


Missing In Action

by TheDarkestDandelion



Series: The Daemon, the Soldier and a Stolen Bio-Weapon AU [54]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Acceptance, Amputation, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood, Escape, Fear, Kidnapping, Lies, Love, Loyalty, Multi, Parent Ardyn Izunia, Parent Cor Leonis, Protective Ardyn Izunia, Revelations, Scary Ardyn Izunia, Silence, Torture, Trust, faith - Freeform, reunited
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-27
Updated: 2019-09-07
Packaged: 2020-09-27 12:55:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 27,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20408098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDarkestDandelion/pseuds/TheDarkestDandelion
Summary: Cor has not returned from his mission to Niflheim, nor has he been in contact with anyone in weeks.Giving Regis no choice but to declare the Marshal as MIA: Mission In Action.





	1. I Don't Know What You Are Talking About

“Noctis please follow Prom’s example.” Regis begged, encouraging the 10-year-old prince to eat his vegetables.

And like father, like son, Noctis shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest. It didn’t matter that Ardyn and Prom had come over for dinner tonight, no one was going to make him eat the disgrace that was greenery. His dad never ate them anyway, he was only doing it because Ardyn was there. He was a hypocrite.

“No.” Noctis replied pushing his dinner away.

“Come on Noct. It’s only veg. It is incredibly good for you.” Ardyn said giving Regis some support by eating what both his nephew’s despised.

To be honest, Ardyn knew this was a losing battle that he was never going to win. He was just grateful that Somnus had decided he was too tired to come down for dinner this evening. They would never get Noct to eat it otherwise.

“Yuck!”

“Stop acting like your grandfather.” Ardyn barked, and to his surprise, Regis didn’t stop him from doing it. The King rather hated his son’s bad eating habit’s even if he was partly to blame for the,

Prompto put his drink down and pointed his finger at his dad. “Don’t be mean to uncle Somnus, dad. He’s not even here to defend himself.”

“That’s the point, Prom.” Ardyn replied, gently placing a hand on Prom’s to stop him from pointing. Prom didn’t mean to, but he could be unknowingly rude sometimes. 

Regis and Ardyn gave each other a sympathetic glance. They’re son’s both had bad habits.

However, Prom was right and Ardyn should not be being mean to Somnus when he wasn’t even here. Considering Cor wasn’t here either, it was up to the King to put his uncle back in his place. How he wished Cor would come back soon.

“Stop being evil.” Regis stated, debating whether he should feed Noctis like a baby.

“I will stop driving you crazy Reggie when you give me a rough estimate when my husband is meant to return from his mission.”

“Yeah, when is dad coming back?” Prompto asked with hope in his eyes, wanting the answer from Regis.

Regis bit his lip so that he didn’t give away his discomfort. However, it had become easier to lie to Ardyn when Prom was in the room and he discovered that changing the subjects had become a lot easier in the blonde child’s presences too. This was because Ardyn never liked to show anyone up when his ‘sunbeam’ was in the room. Fatherhood definitely suited and changed his immortal uncle for the better. 

“You know I can’t. Noctis stop hiding your vegetables under the mash.” Regis said, taking Noctis’s fork off of him so he could recover the poorly hidden food.

“But I don’t like it.” Noct whined.

“No pudding then.”

Noctis pouted and shoved the food in his mouth and Prompto laughed at his best friend. Ardyn would have laughed at his youngest nephew’s reaction but he was much more interested in Regis’s lack of explanation. For some reason or other Regis had been very reluctant to talk about Cor’s whereabouts. Just that it is an important mission and the less people that knew about it, the better. Ardyn just wanted to know where his husband was and so did Prom.

“You are ignoring your sunbeam of a nephew.” Ardyn said putting his cutlery in the middle of his plate.

“Dad, just tell Prom and Ardyn when Cor’s coming back.” Noctis grumbled, suffering the watery taste of his food.

“Thank you Noct.” Ardyn smiled and then glared at Regis.

“Not for another 2 weeks okay.”

* * *

Cor left a couple of weeks ago and Prompto was missing his dad so much. Ardyn wouldn’t tell him anything, and when he brought the conversation up with Regis or Clarus they told him he was at work and that he would return when he was finished. But because Prompto wasn’t getting any information he was starting to get worried. He told his dad about his worries and Ardyn did the best he could to lessen them, but he was just as concerned, if not more, as Prom was.

Prompto was determined to get answers. After school one day, Ardyn picked the boys up and said that he and Prom had to stay in the Citadel for a while as Ardyn was slowly returning to work and he wanted to get back into the swing of things. He could have taken the work home, but he would only get distracted. Prom took that as his opportunity to find uncle Somnus and see if he knew anything. Taking a leaf out of his dad’s book so that he didn’t get tired, he teleported himself to Somnus’s quarters and wandered in. Somnus was peacefully sitting on his balcony and Prompto happily walked over to him and not to his surprise, his uncle was asleep. 

“Uncle Somnus?” Prompto asked pulling at Somnus’s sleeve.

He didn’t wake up. Prompto frowned as his uncle continued to snore. He went back inside and found a cushion and once he was standing in front of Somnus, Prom threw it at his face.

Somnus jolted up and looked around expecting it to be Ardyn that woke him up. Why did he always spoil his nap time? He was very angry about being woken up, but when he saw it was Prom and not his brother he let the anger slide.

“What?” Somnus asked, a little ruder then he had intended.

“When is dad coming home?” Prom asked in a sad voice.

Somnus paused for a moment. Somnus never had a problem with lying to anyone. In fact, he took pride in it. But when it came to Prom he hated it. The boy was too trusting sometimes and also Ardyn would wring his neck if he upset him. But Regis had asked him not to say a word, meaning that Somnus had to lie to his nephew.

“Not yet.”

“Do you know where he is?” Prompto asked sweetly.

“… No.” Somnus shook his head.

Somnus widened his eyes when he saw the cushion that had woken him up to come hurdling towards him again. Unfortunately, the Founder King was too tired to react in time and he got hit in the face again. Somnus grunted and gave Prom the evils for a moment. But he was taken back when he saw his 10-year-old nephew return the look. 

Prom tapped his foot on the floor and pouted. “Don’t lie. Is my dad okay?”

“Don’t worry Prom. Your dad is alright. He is always okay.” Somnus smiled.

Prom didn’t smile back. He looked down at the floor and accepted what his uncle said. It was a better answer than what Regis and Clarus had given him. “I guess you’re right.”

_Ardyn’s going to have my neck if he goes back to him sad._ Somnus thought before standing up and stretching his tiredness away. As Prom was here, he could spend some time with him. And right about now, Noctis should be in physio session, so it didn’t matter as much if he spoiled his nephew. His grandson would be none the wiser. 

“Why don’t we go down to the kitchens and get some ice cream.” Somnus suggested, outstretching his hand to Prom.

Prom’s face lit up and he gladly accepted his uncle’s hand and offer.

* * *

Prompto cried last night because he saw his reflection and he wanted Cor. Since Prom had started therapy, he had gotten better and now he allowed Ardyn to calm him down. But seeing Prom call out for Cor made Ardyn miss his husband even more and he was getting wary as to why neither Regis or Somnus wasn’t telling him anything. Somnus’s unhelpfulness didn’t shock him. His brother only told him that, he didn’t know what was going on and the pair left it at that. But it surprised Ardyn that Regis kept his mouth shut. Ardyn asked Monica and Dustin but the pair said that they were none the wiser to the Marshal’s whereabouts. Which prompted Ardyn to leave Prom with Noctis, Gladio, and Ignis and went to find the Shield.

He sat in Clarus’s chair and waited for him to arrive. When the door opened Ardyn spoke very loudly, getting to the point. “Clarus, has Cor been in contact yet?”

Clarus jumped and dropped all the paperwork he was carrying. Clarus shut the door and shook his head at Ardyn but the daemon Lord just shrugged his shoulders and waited for Clarus to respond.

“Briefly. He isn’t coming back until the end of next week.” Clarus sighed, deciding that he would try to convince Ardyn to pick the mess up before he left.

“When was this?” Ardyn asked curiously.

“Last week.”

Ardyn sat forward and he felt his eyes glow with rage. That was not something he had ever expected Clarus to keep from him: “Why wasn’t I informed?”

“He didn’t want you to fuss over him.”

“Prom is worried sick.”

“I know.” Clarus nodded, before standing to attention when he heard the side door opening.

Regis walked in. He had been listening to the conversation from the other side of the door and he felt very guilty. But getting Ardyn worried would not help anyone. He decided to take over from his Shield and save him the backhand he might get from Ardyn.

“And we know you are too. Please listen to me there is nothing to worry about. Ardyn, I came to find you because Noctis said you promised to take him and Prom out in your car today. Do not disappoint them.”

By this point, Ardyn had had enough. A drive would definitely help and he knew that he was outnumbered by the King and Shield. He nodded and left. To Clarus’s surprise, Ardyn actually picked up everything Clarus had dropped and handed it to the Shield and took his leave.

Regis and Clarus kept quiet for a few moments to make sure Ardyn was gone. Allowing the pair to let their worry and panic set in.

“How much longer have we got to keep lying to him?” Clarus asked, shaking his head, knowing how angry Ardyn was going to be when he found out.

“Like you said, until the end of next week.” Regis rubbed his forehead in exasperation over actively hurting his uncle and honorary nephew.

“Not if Somnus says anything.”

“He won’t. Let’s just hope Cor turns up sooner rather than later.”

* * *

It got to the end of the week and Regis and Clarus could not lie any longer. They couldn’t do it to Ardyn or Prom. One day, when Ardyn had come into work to give his son a proper tour of his office the King and Shield made their move. Regis knocked at the door rather hesitantly and did not wait for the invitation to come in. 

“Ardyn…” Regis said softly and nearly jumped back into Clarus when Prom bolted in front of him.

“REGIS!!” Prompto smiled and then started to run around the room like a headless chicken.

Ardyn simply laughed at his son scaring his nephew. _Prom was off his rocker._ Ardyn smiled back to Regis and greeted him. “Yes, my dear nephew. What can I help you with?”

Regis stepped in and Clarus followed after and they looked as if they had just returned from a wake. No matter how much they wanted to spare Ardyn any heartache this had gone on for long enough.

“Clarus, take Prompto to see Noctis.” Regis stated not taking his eyes off Ardyn’s.

“Why?” Ardyn asked, controlling his voice, so Prom didn’t hear any negative emotion come from him. “What’s wrong?”

Clarus refused to answer Ardyn’s question and turned his attention to Prompto. “Come along, Prom. Let’s go and see Noctis and Gladio.”

“But Dad you said I could spend the day with you and help you work.” Prom said, at his dad for confirmation.

“He’ll come and find us after Regis has had a word with him.”

“Go on, Sunbeam. I am only a couple of steps behind you.” Ardyn smiled and watched Prom leave with Clarus. He noticed that Regis looked nervous and the King refused to sit down. Something was terribly wrong. Ardyn felt something begin to bubble away in his gut and he prayed to Six that he despised that Regis wouldn’t say it. “What is it?”

“It’s Cor.”

“What happened? Regis tell me now.” Ardyn’s voice was riddled with panic as he stood up.

He had waited for weeks to hear something on Cor’s whereabouts, but no one said anything. Ardyn walked around his desk as Regis said nothing. But if his nephew didn’t hurry up soon he was going to get the brunt of his wrath.

Seeing the danger Regis finally came out with what he had been keeping secret.

“I lied to you. Cor was meant to be back last Monday.” Knowing that Ardyn was about to either panic like there was no tomorrow or scream at him with the rage of all the daemons he had crawling inside of him Regis tried to explain what had happened. “He hasn’t been in contact, none of the hunters have said anything, not even Niflheim have boasted the fact that they could potentially have him. I am afraid I have to declare him as Missing In Action.”

Regis stood still waiting for Ardyn’s reaction and to his surprise he didn’t get one. Which in itself was a little more terrifying. Ardyn just stared blankly at him, probably trying to process what he had been told. Regis had never had to do this before. Cor always came back last minute, and he honestly thought this time would be no different. But it was and Regis was beyond worried. Not just for Cor, but for both of Ardyn and Prom. They were both very sensitive individuals and this was going to make Ardyn lose it and Prom cry his eyes out.

Ardyn didn’t say anything so Regis spoke calmly to try and understand what was going through his uncle’s head. “Ardyn do you understand that?”

“Where did you send him? At least tell me that much.” Ardyn said holding back the rage that was beginning to coat his body. 

“No. You will only do something rash.”

“He’s MY husband! I HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW!” Ardyn roared with worry and anger. But his shouts were overshadowed by that of the King’s.

“AND HE’S MY BEST FRIEND AND MY BROTHER! We are trying everything, and I don’t need you causing more trouble.”

Ardyn rubbed his face briefly. He didn’t know what he was feeling at the moment. He didn’t know how to handle that information, all he knew was that he needed to find Cor. The little monsters in his head were coming up with all sorts of rubbish like: ‘He’s finally left you’ and ‘You knew deep down he never loved you.’ Ardyn could easily ignore that. What he couldn’t ignore were what the other ones were saying: ‘He’s dead’ and ‘Someone’s got him and you are powerless to do anything about it.’ The taunting was getting a little too much and he took the rage that was meant to be for the daemons out on Regis. Along with giving in to the daemons idea as to where his husband might be. Because this was clearly serious enough for the alarm bells to be raised and his gut was telling him that something bad had happened.

“Trouble? Oh no, I would never cause trouble. But believe me, if I find out that the Niffs have him there will be trouble raining down on their heads.”

“This is why I didn’t say anything and why I am not telling you any further information. You need to calm down.” Regis ordered. He was never any good at calming his uncle down. Cor was the best at this.

But being told to calm down only spiked Ardyn’s rage and he demanded more answers from the King.

“Who else knew! TELL ME RIGHT NOW!”

“Clarus, Drautos and Somnus.”

“Of course, my baby brother knew.” Ardyn laughed cruelly, he was not surprised by that.

“He was the one who wanted to tell you. He was the one who said, right from the beginning, that it would be in my best interest to inform you of what was going on! Do not take your anger out on him. Unless you want to receive comfort from your brother you are not allowed anywhere near him! Do you understand me!” 

“No.” Ardyn said darkly as he slowly walked over to Regis, and he carried on using the same tone as he demanded more answers. “You sent him to Niflheim, didn’t you?” Regis’s silence confirmed it and Ardyn nodded putting all the lose threads together. “Fantastic.”

“If you go, Prom will be on his own.” Regis said stepping in front of Ardyn and putting his hands out so he would not take one more step. Ardyn was a lot taller than him and it was intimidating being under Ardyn’s aggressive and unforgiving stare. He sympathised with his uncle, but right now he needed to think. “Do you want that? Yes, Niflheim may have Cor but they may not. We can’t be certain, and you are willing to risk Prompto losing you if that is the case? If you go in there it could be considered an illegal act of War and it will be in their rights to take you for themselves Ardyn. They have Solheim Technology and have been messing around with daemons! What if they have found a way to control them and they get hold of you?!”

“I won’t let that happen.” Ardyn gritted his teeth trying to move Regis out of the way without hurting him but Regis did not budge.

“Again, you can’t be certain of that. Ardyn please just wait until we know more. Please for Prom if not for me or anyone else. Cor wouldn’t want you to leave him either.”

The mention of his son’s name calmed him down. But it did nothing to ease the worry and Ardyn did his best to allow Regis to talk some sense into him before finding Prom. He needed a hug off his son right now. 

* * *

“Wake up!”

Cor heard someone grunt as he slowly regained consciousness. His head felt a little heavy and his eyes were hard to keep open. He heard the command again. The Marshal did not recognise the voice at all. Cor was finally able to open his eyes and he saw someone in armor standing over him.

“That’s it, up you get, you thief.”

“What…” Cor said in a daze, unsure of what was going on. He tried to move his arms and soon realised that he was in restraints. He tried to move his feet and they were also bound to the chair he was being forced to sit on.

The man in front of him laughed at his efforts, before introducing himself without saying his name. 

“Marshal Leonis welcome to my research facility. Now, I think it is time we talk about what you stole from me.”

Cor’s rage took hold of his heart, he knew exactly who was standing in front of him and if he hadn’t been restrained Cor would turn him into dust. Verstael Besithia, the psychopath that hurt his son. However, it didn’t matter how angry or vengeful Cor felt towards the man, he had to remain calm. He would not allow Verstael near his son again, not after the information Prom had given him and what he had learnt over the years about the mad scientist.

“I don’t know what you are talking about.” Cor said plainly.

“Yes, you do. About my specimen?” Verstael bore his teeth as he stood closer to him.

Cor shook his head and tried to forget that the man had called his son that. “No idea what you are talking ab-”

Cor didn’t let out a grunt of pain as Verstael punched him in the face. Cor took the impact and glared back at him with hatred. 

“The child you stole from this facility! I am not a patient man, Marshal. I do not have time for thieves. All I want to know is how my specimen is fairing and how you have defected it further.” 

“Specimen.” Cor shrugged his shoulders, continuing to play dumb.

“Yes, Marshal. Maybe one of my MT’s hit you over the head too hard.” When Cor failed to respond, Verstael lost his patience. He grabbed Cor’s short hair and pulled his head back as hard as he could. Verstael only got more frustrated when the Marshal did not show any sign that he was in any pain. The Niff spoke harshly at him as he asked a fourth time. “I am not allowed to kill you. But I am allowed to torture you. If you don’t want that to happen, tell me what you have done with the defective child you stole from me?”

Cor spat in his face. Forcing Verstael to let go of him.

“Go to hell.” Cor gritted his teeth refusing to comply.

Verstael laughed and punched Cor in the face again. When Cor gave him nothing he turned around and spoke calmly as he approached his computer, that was only a few meters away from where Cor was bound.

“You are married to the Adagium. I wonder how much you have to go through before he turns up.”

“He’s not stupid enough to fall for that.”

“Is that a warning or faith?” Verstael asked with humour. The scientist typed something in and once he was satisfied that he had everything up and running, he pulled the computer closer to Cor and made him look at the screen. On the screen was a lot of weaponry and daemons. “You see Marshal, I have managed to use the daemons to my advantage. What do you think I can accomplish if I get the Adagium on my side? Or be able to control him? But I don’t need to do that. Not unless he gives me back my specimen.”

“I don’t know what you are on about.” Cor maintained his expression of nothingness as Verstael’s words raced through his head.

Ardyn could be that stupid to fall for this but hopefully, Regis had knocked some sense into him. All Cor knew was that he was not letting Verstael to get his hands on either his son or his husband. No matter what. He had to remain calm and focused on the task at hand. Keeping Lucian secrets safe and protecting his family.

“No wonder you are the Marshal of the Crownsguard.” Verstael said with a hint of admiration for Cor’s defiance to talk, no matter how infuriating it was becoming. “But I am afraid… your lies and loyalty to your pathetic King aren’t going to help you here. No one is going to help you. Not the King, not your husband, no one. Not until the Emperor has decided what to do with you.”


	2. Silence Is A Virtue

Cor rubbed his aching shoulder as he sat up after another restless sleep.

Cor had been forced to sleep on the hardened floor of a darkened cell in Besithia’s facility. He had definitely slept in places that were worst than this, but not to his surprise, Verstael had taken it upon himself to make him feel as uncomfortable as possible. The Marshal knew his face was badly bruised and cut from hours of interrogation over Prompto and not once did Cor say a word. He managed to keep his mouth shut when that disgusting excuse of a human being ran volts of electricity through his body. It was a bloody good thing he was trained for this sort of thing if it ever occurred. Ardyn was going to do unspeakable things to this rat when he found out. Never mind him, when Cor felt strong enough he was going to break Verstael’s neck himself. For everything that he had done to Prom and everything, he had put him through over the past couple of weeks. None of this was enough to break him and considering all of this was because of Prom, but no matter what Verstael did, Cor would never say a word as it would keep his son safe.

Cor’s pounding headache was not helped when the metal door to his cell swung open and smashed into the wall. It was not a surprise to who it was. 

“Get up.” Verstael spat, standing at a distance from Cor. The Marshal noticed that he didn’t have any MT’s with him.

“Fuck off.” Cor huffed back. Like fuck could Verstael make him do anything.

“That wasn’t a request. It was an order. Get up.”

“What are you going to do? Make me?”

“No. But he will.”

Verstael smirked as he moved more into the room and away from the door so General Glauca could come in. Cor let out a sigh, he had fought the General a few times in the past and every time he was victorious. But this time Cor didn’t have any weapons on him, and he was exhausted due to the lack of sleep and the aftermath of the volts of electricity that were forced through his body yesterday. Cor knew he wouldn’t win if he tried anything.

“Now, are you going to stop acting like a loyal bitch to a King who has left you here, and come quietly? Believe me, you will make this easier for us all if you cooperate.” Verstael’s smirk didn’t leave his face as he watched Cor unwillingly get to his feet. “Good boy. Glauca, lead the way.”

Once the General went out the door, Cor had to follow and ignore what Verstael said. There were many things that the scientist had said that Ardyn was sure to gut him for. That sentence was definitely in the top 10. As they walked through the corridors Cor noticed that there were MT’s at every turn, and it made him feel guilty and sick. Because in an attempt to break him, Verstael had told Cor what his obedient army really were. And that was what Cor had been killing for the last 10 years. Yes, it made Cor feel uneasy, but he stopped himself from thinking them as his son and rather poor sods who weren’t lucky enough to escape. He was grateful to himself for getting Prom away from this awful place.

After about 10 minutes they came to a door that a handful of MT’s were standing outside of it. All of them nodded their heads at the two Niffs and moved out of the way as Verstael knocked on the door. Verstael quickly entered and closed the door behind him. Cor glanced behind him and noticed that the MT’s had started to circulate them. Cor darted his eyes to Glauca who was standing between him and the door.

Right, this formation could only mean one thing, couldn’t it?

The door in front of them opened and Verstael ushered Cor and the General in. It was just as Cor suspected. Emperor Iedolas Aldercapt was sitting at the head of the table with a plate filled with food.

“Marshal Leonis. Please take a seat.” Aldercapt gestured to the chair next to him and Cor noticed that there was another place setting on the table.

Cor clenched his jaw together. The Marshal was not a proud man but if the Emperor thought he was dining with him, he had another think coming.

“Don’t be rude Marshal.” Verstael commented and Cor still did not move.

Aldercapt blinked and looked to Glauca before nodding at him. The General returned the gesture, grabbed Cor’s shoulder and forced him over to the chair and sat him down. Cor gritted his teeth in annoyance. He shuffled as far as he could in the chair so that he was as far away from Aldercapt as possible. He did not want to be here.

“That’s better.” Aldercapt turned to face Cor and gestured for Glauca to return to the entrance of the door. “You mustn’t be so on edge. Have you been enjoying your stay?”

“No.” Cor stated bluntly. Fighting the attempt to roll his eyes, the sick twisted ruler must be able to see the cuts and bruises plastered on his face.

“That’s a pity. Besithia, I thought I told you to make our guest comfortable.”

“I was. But he failed to cooperate, your Radiance.” Verstael bowed. Cor thought it was out of mockery than anything else, but he knew better than to point that out.

“Without asking my permission. Besithia. Glauca. Leave.” Aldercapt grumbled as he gestured for the pair to shoo.

Which left only the Emperor, Cor and a few servants left in the grand dining room.

Aldercapt started to cackle. Cor gave him a hard look, not really sure what had brought this on. Cor watched as the Emperor stared him down and sat up straighter then he had before. If the Emperor was so keen to make him feel comfortable then he was doing a very poor job at it.

“Marshal Leonis, you are welcome to try and kill me if you like. I know you want too.” Aldercapt continued to laugh as he dug into the very expensive looking steak in front of him.

Cor clicked his tongue and agreed. “You’re correct. I do.”

But he wouldn’t make it far if he did claim the life of the Emperor now. He was certain that Glauca and a lot of the MT’s were standing outside the door. If by some miracle he managed to get pass all that and make it outside, he would die due to the cold. For now he had to bite his tongue and do whatever it took to get back home to Prom and Ardyn.

Aldercapt finished his mouth full and went back to cackling cruelly. “I wouldn’t expect any different from you Marshal. That is not the reason why you are here though. Chief Besithia shouldn’t have made your stay an uncomfortable one. From now on you will be placed under someone else’s care.”

Cor wanted to laugh at that. The man was poor at acting kind.

“I don’t want it thanks.” Cor dismissed the offer, pushing his food away.

“I am being generous.”

“If you were being generous, I would be back in my home city by now.”

Aldercapt shot Cor an evil glare. When the old sovereign spoke he tried to sound as threatening as he could. “I beg your pardon Marshal, cease you forget that you were the one that trespassed onto my homeland. Broke into my city, my home and my research facility. I am more than aware you have done this offence more than once. You are very lucky to be sitting here right now. Alive.”

No wonder he left the interrogation to Besithia and Glauca, the Emperor was very poor at making a mouse frightened. How had he been in charge of Niflheim for so long?

“No, I am not lucky. Because I am not ever leaving, am I?”

“There is no reason why you can’t.”

“I am not giving you what you want.”

“What do you think I want, Marshal?” Aldercapt asked curiously.

“Information.” Cor shrugged his shoulders.

What else could the Emperor hope to gain from keeping him? Cor had nothing with him but the knowledge and secrets of the Crown. Maybe, he could be used as leverage against Ardyn but that was it.

“No. I don’t want anything like that. I wouldn’t listen to Chief Besithia either. I don’t want the child you stole, nor do I want to control your husband.”

“What do you want then?” Cor narrowed his eyes.

“I want the Crystal and the Ring of the Lucii.”

* * *

“Have you heard anything yet?” Ardyn asked, finally getting a chance to back Somnus into a corner after a long day of being worried sick about Cor.

“No.” Somnus shook his head and looked at his brother with pity.

Ardyn didn’t like the answer Somnus had given him. Ardyn had been told strictly by Regis that both he and Prom were to remain in the Citadel until Cor had returned or that they knew of his exact location, this was to make sure that Ardyn didn’t wander off on a rampage and destroy whatever he could until he found the Marshal alive. The immortal being was scared and all he wanted was more information on the matter. He just wanted to know that Cor was… Ardyn wanted to put his already tormented mind at rest and not allow himself to lose control or ponder on all the possible scenarios that could have happened to his husband. He wanted to make Somnus see that, and he knew mentioning Prom would help him get Somnus to open his mouth.

“What am I meant to tell my son? ‘Sorry sunbeam, dad isn’t coming back because no one knows where he is? And unfortunately, I can’t do anything because if I do, I will lose my shit and half the population of Eos will suffer for it.’ Is that what you want me to tell him?”

“Calm down. Cor is more than likely just stuck behind enemy lines and is making his way back now. Probably.” Somnus cleared his throat on the last word.

“You aren’t filling me with any reassurance.”

Somnus closed his eyes. No matter what Ardyn thought it did hurt Somnus to see his brother looking so helpless. The Founder King may regret telling the truth…“Fine. Regis didn’t want me to say anything, but he sent Drautos, and a few of the glaives, out a couple of days ago… and they have confirmed that the Niffs do have Cor.”

Somnus watched Ardyn’s eye begin to twitch with rage. The Founder King got ready to summon his weapon just in case Ardyn lost control of himself. He could tell that his brother was about to explode in a fit of uncontrollable anger and was very clearly hurt and worried by his words. 

Ardyn let out a low daemonic growl. “You weren’t going to say anything!?”

“We only found out this morning. Listen Ardyn. You cannot, under any circumstances, do anything with this information. Regis is currently trying to get in touch with the Emperor and we are doing all we can to get him back.”

Somnus’s efforts of calming his brother down was in vain. Ardyn’s hands had already turned into fist and Ardyn was hiding his eyes underneath his hat as he stared daggers at the floor beneath him. Somnus fought the urge to gulp and tried not to show his discomfort as he knew Ardyn would smell it and he was going to be at the centre of his brother’s rage. 

“You. Don’t. Care.” Ardyn said in a slow and unforgiving cutting voice.

“Don’t say that. Of course, I care.”

“NO YOU DON’T!!” Ardyn screamed as he snapped his head up to reveal the scourge leaking from his face.

Somnus stood up straight and spoke in a strong voice. “Yes, I do. Cor is my brother-in-law and the father to my nephew. Of course, I care, Ardyn.”

“THEN WHY AREN’T YOU LETTING ME DO ANYTHING!”

Ardyn continued to scream as he kicked a nearby table, he kicked it with such a force it went flying across the room. Everything that was on it flew in all directions and smashed as they hit the floor. The sound and sudden burst of aggression made Somnus jump back so he didn’t get hit by the flying object. On instinct, Somnus did summon the Blade of the Mystic and glared at Ardyn with disappointment.

Somnus knew he shouldn’t have shouted, as it would only antagonise him further, but he did it anyway. “Because I love all three of you! So does Regis. I am not losing my brother on the same day that I lose my brother-in-law. You need to stay here until we can get everything sorted!”

“You have a funny way of showing it.”

“Be careful. You’re losing control of yourself.” Somnus warned in a calmer voice as he continued to watch the awful substance run down Ardyn’s face.

“I KNOW! BECAUSE I AM SCARED! I AM NOT LOSING HIM BUT IF I DO SOMNUS, MAY THE GODS HELP THIS PLANET!”

“Dad?”

Prom’s voice snapped Ardyn out of his uncontrollable state of mind. He shook his head and quickly moved himself to the edge of the room. Ardyn was so grateful that he had been facing Somnus and not towards the door otherwise Prom would have bear witness to something he had managed to keep concealed from him for the past 9 years. In a fit of desperation, Ardyn took off his coat and wiped his face to make sure everything had disappeared. He looked to Somnus for conformation but his brother was already standing beside Prom, more than likely to check if he was alright.

Now Ardyn felt shittier than he had before, Prom looked scared. He was scared because he shouted.

“Sunbeam? What are you doing down here? You were meant to be doing your homework with Noct.” Ardyn said in a fake jolly voice to see if he could make his son feel more comfortable.

“He fell asleep and I wanted to come and find you.” Prom said as he began to walk towards him.

Somnus was quick to place a hand on his nephew's shoulder to prevent him from getting any closer to Ardyn. “Prom, stay with me.”

“No, dad, are you okay?” Prompto asked in a worried voice.

“I am fine Sunbeam. Do as Somnus says, please.”

Ardyn wouldn’t hurt him but after that little stunt it wasn’t safe for Prom to be near him. It hurt Ardyn to see Prom looking at him like he was some sort of monster. Okay he could have really done without this today. He never wanted to scare him like that. 

“Go and see Regis now.” Somnus demanded before pulling Prompto towards the door. “Buddy, we are going to wake up Noct before dinner is served.”

* * *

Aldercapt allowed Verstael back into the room after getting nothing from Cor and informed the scientist because he lacked the permission to torture the Marshal, he would no longer be in charge of him. (So when Verstael said he could torture him that was a lie) And the scientist managed to hold his tongue until the Emperor had left the room. He glared at the Marshal before swearing in a fit of frustration.

“FUCK SAKE! Tell me Leonis what you have done to my specimen?”

“What ‘specimen’?”

“I am growing tired of this. The one you stole.”

“I haven’t stolen anything of yours.” Cor couldn’t help but grit his teeth.

Prompto wasn’t his. His beautiful, jolly, amazing son was nobodies. Prom was his own person and the circumstances of his birth made no difference to the love Cor that had for that boy. Even if that meant while he was here he had to deny his own son’s existence to ensure Prom was safe and happy he would keep saying it. No matter how painful it was.

“I know for a fact you and the Adagium adopted it. I just want to know why you have made it weak.” Verstael growled back. If he was honest, he didn’t care what had become of it. He was angrier than the man in front of him stole something that was his and had ruined it. Now, the fool that ruled his beloved country had now destroyed his chance of getting revenge on the thief. 

Cor huffed out a laugh. “Weak? You’re the one that is weak.”

“How dare you?!”

“How dare I? I am only telling you the truth, which I doubt many have done. The Emperor said you are no longer in charge of me. You can’t do anything to me now.”

“Think again Leonis. If it wasn’t for me this Empire would not be the power that it is today.”

Cor smirked and took a step closer to the man that he now wished he had let Ardyn butcher a few years ago. “Then it is you I have to kill when I get out of this.”

“Just because you are married to the Adagium doesn’t mean you are untouchable.”

“I was called ‘Cor the Immortal’ before I married him. I don’t need him to look after me.”

“You are way out of your depth boy.” Verstael took another foot closer so that the pair were only a few feet apart.

Cor one upped him on another step, looking down at the disgrace of a human being and shook his head. “No. It is you who is out of your depth.”

“Why you littl-”

“Besithia. Enough.”

A strong voice boomed into the room forcing Verstael to diverted his death glare away from the Marshal. Cor didn’t look to see who it was straight away. He wanted to see Verstael’s reaction to the voice and the scientist seemed very irritated that the man had come in unannounced. And Vertseal’s voice held nothing but venom.

“General Elactus.”

Cor had never heard that name around here before. He looked at the man and nothing jumped out at him. He had cloudy blue eyes, brown wavy hair littered with silver strands due to his age, that sat just above the shoulders, and he stood tall just a few inches shorter then Cor. Like all the obedient high ranking personal in this fucking freezing country he was wearing armor. Cor was just curious that he had managed to get the scientist to shut the fucking hell up. Which was a good thing because Cor’s headache was starting to worsen.

“The Emperor said that the Marshal is no longer your concern. Now if you don’t want me to say another word on the matter, leave.” General Elactus stared the scientist down before the older man stomped his foot like a child and left without another word. Cor found that funny, the vile sick man looked like he was about to split an artery at how angry the General had made him. Once the door had closed the General turned his attention to him, and this time he used a gentler voice, but it was still strong, as he was proud at what he had done.

“Marshal Leonis if you would like to follow me.”

“Don’t have a choice.” Cor responded and did as he was told.

He definitely had a migraine coming on. The lights of the hallways of this place was not helping either. Cor was glad that annoying prick was no longer walking with him, taunting him and trying to get him to give up information about Prom. Because if he was here, Cor would have punched him square in the face and probably get shot for it.

“I am sorry about Chief Besithia. He enjoys seeing others in pain.” General Elactus said as they turned a corner that for some reason didn’t have any of the MT’s or soldier’s on patrol. Cor didn’t give him a reply. He was more concerned with not thinking about the awful pain in his head.

The General didn’t attempt to speak to him again. Not until they came to a door that looked more suited for a guest than a prisoner of war. There were MT’s standing outside this door and Elactus told Cor to follow him into the room.

“Here we are then.” Elactus nodded as Cor stepped further into the room. 

“Not a cell?” Cor asked blinking through the pain and confusion as to why he was here.

“No. Our Emperor wants you to be as comfortable as possible.”

“He will not get what he wants.” Cor scratched his head as he sat on the rather luxurious bed that had been offered to him.

If he didn’t feel so rotten he would have completely rejected the bribery that was being dangled in front of his nose. But right now he really needed a sleep. He expected Elactus to leave and report back to the Emperor that he had willingly accepted his gift, but he didn’t leave. He stood with the door opened like he was waiting for an order. Because the man hadn’t left Cor thought it best to get at least the tiniest amount of information on who the man was. 

“I gather you are the one in charge of me?”

Elactus nodded with a stern expression. “That I am. You may not trust anyone here and I don’t blame you, you would be right not to. But I have been assigned to make sure you are comfortable.”

“It won’t change a thing, no matter how much comfort he provides for me.” Cor rolled his eyes, he had never been easily persuaded.

“I would give in, if I were you, if you want to see your family again, there is no other way around it.” 

The mention of his family upset the Marshal. He could be strong when Verstael made snide comments about them because he had to defend them. He had to protect them, but this Niff was acting differently to the rest. Like he said he was trying to make him as comfortable as possible, on the Emperor’s behalf, and it upset and angered him. He wanted this man to leave now.

“No. I won’t.”

“It will benefit you in the long run.”

“You don’t care. You are only following orders. Anyway, I would have thought anyone in Niflheim would love to see me suffer.” _Especially after all the grief, I have caused to your fucked up army_. Cor thought to himself.

“Not you Marshal. His Majesty King Regis, on the other hand, yes.” There was clear hatred behind the General’s voice that time.

None of this was Regis’s fault, Cor never understood why he got the brunt of everything. It wasn’t him who started the war. If anything they should be hating on Somnus and Ardyn for not defusing the tension before it turned into a pointless bitter tireless war.

He chose not to fight, as his eyes felt like they were about to explode out of his head. “I am not sorry to disappoint you. But I would rather die than give in to whatever Aldercapt wants.”

Elactus nodded. “If there is nothing else.”

“Go.”


	3. One's Enough

The light turned on in the room that Cor was being allowed to stay in. Even though Verstael had stopped torturing him a few days ago, Cor never held his breath or hoped for the best when that door opened. This was Niflheim after all. It was for the better that he always expected the worst. Cor got himself out of bed and stood up turning towards the door. The Marshal didn’t prevent himself from rolling his eyes at General Elactus. It would be him, he was the one who kept pestering him and pushing him around this frost-bitten palace.

The General had his hands behind his back. “I don’t want to interrogate you.”

He kept saying that. Cor was getting frustrated with it. This man was not his friend, he was just here to dangle a carrot in front of him and wait until he took the bait. That wasn’t happening. The Marshal let his sharp tongue overcome him. “Why else would you be here.”

Elactus let out a small smile and put his hands in front of him. He was holding a cup of something warm. Cor gave him a weird look when the Niff offered it to him.

“To give you this. It’s not poisoned. Look.” Elactus took a gulp of the drink, before returning the cup in front of him for Cor to take. “See not poisoned, I thought you would like something hot to drink instead of plain water.”

“There is another reason.” Cor continued to glare at him, refusing to take the drink.

_What game was this Niff playing?_

There was no point being nice to him. No matter what happened or how nice the General was being, Cor was not opening his mouth. Not to the Emperor, not to that disgusting scientist and he certainly would not talk or give anything to the man that was pretending to be kind to him. 

Elactus nodded his head and took another swig of the warm drink. “There is. The Emperor wishes for you to join him and the rest of the senate for dinner this evening.”

“No.” Cor laughed in disgust and disbelief.

“Leonis… I can call you that right?”

“I don’t give a fuck what you call me.”

Elactus let out a sigh and placed what remained in the cup on the side by Cor’s bed. “You’re lack of cooperation may have gifted you a comfy bed, but I warn you, the Emperor is insane. And as long as he thinks he can use you, you won’t be severely harmed but… it doesn’t mean he won’t give you back to Verstael if he thinks you are taking advantage of him.”

Cor thought he would prefer to be looked after by the crazy scientist right now. At least Verstael would be straight with him instead of playing this fucking game.

“I don’t care about his fucking generosity. I will never play subject to his messed-up games. I am here because he thinks he can bribe the King of Lucis into getting what he wants. That is never going to work. Can you both stop it? And stop it now.”

Cor kept his eyes on Elactus to see his reaction. And instead of rage covering his face, there was amusement. Which got Cor angry, but he shouldn’t really be surprised. The Niffs in charge of the country had a sick sense of humor, Cor was slightly glad that this man was starting to express his true colours now. 

However, his words were ignored. The General opened the door and let a few servants in to take Cor’s measurements so they could find him suitable clothes to wear at the dinner as he was to be the ‘honorary guest’ at this banquet he was being forced to attend. Not half an hour later, the servants came back with thicker and smarter clothes and Cor could do nothing but wear discomfort on his face. And just to make the matter worse and more insulting Cor was sat next to the Emperor and Verstael. All the way through the night, the Emperor kept hinting that Regis had left him here to rot, and Verstael kept calling him a thief.

Why couldn’t he just be put out of his misery? Somehow, death seemed like a good option compared to this torture. He never liked attending dinners in Lucis let alone dinners where he was sat with the people who wanted to destroy his home and family.

* * *

“Cerbie come on.” Prom whispered to the daemon dog as he put his yellow backpack on.

Prompto had waited until he thought his dad was asleep before he made his move. He tried the door and tiptoed out of his room in the dark. Prom thought it best he wait until he was outside the Citadel to teleport out of Insomnia with Cerbie by his side. This was because his dad would be able to sense that he had used his daemon magic if he did it here. Therefore doing it outside the Citadel was the best option. He walked through his dad’s private quarters and reached for the entrance but he was pulled back by his backpack and the sound of Cerbie’s three heads whimpering. Prom turned around and placed a finger to his lips.

“Shh, boy. We don’t want to wake up dad.” Prompto got his backpack out of Cerbie’s jaws and his dog started to bark. Bark very loudly. The little boy’s eyes went wide, and he started to flap his hands and hush the dog in a panicked voice. “No Cerbie! Stop. Do you want to find dad or not?”

All of the candles came on and Prompto gulped knowing he had been caught red-handed. Cerbie moved away from him and ran over to Ardyn who looked down at his son. 

“What in the world do you think you are doing?” Ardyn asked.

“Nothing.”

“Prompto Leonis, do not lie to me.”

Prompto closed his eyes and sniffed. He bowed his head and wiped his nose as it began to run a little. “I want dad to come home.”

“You think going to look for him yourself is the answer? It’s not. You are not going anywhere and that is final.” Ardyn’s voice was more worried than angry at his son’s rather rash decision.

Ardyn was just as heartbroken as Prom was. They both wanted and needed Cor back. But Ardyn knew the story better than his son did. He was thankful to himself that he had decided not to fall asleep until Cor was safely back with him. It was just in case Regis suddenly got any news on Cor, or if anyone came by and tried to take his son away from him. But it had now become clear he shouldn’t have been worried about someone taking Prom away, he should have been worried about Prom taking off on his own accord. It shouldn’t surprise him considering Prom was his and Cor’s son.

“But you want to and uncle Somnus said no.” Prom continued, trying not to cry. All he wanted was his dad back.

Ardyn sighed as he patted Cerbie on the head. He walked closer to Prompto, to ensure he didn’t take off like a shot. And the words Ardyn said to his son… he didn’t want to admit them. “He said no because he is right. We… we need to let Somnus and Regis find him, my darling. I can’t have you go off on your own either.”

“But I would have Cerbie with me.” Prom suggested, but Cerbie backed up and laid down, telling the pair that wasn’t happening and he wasn’t going to let Prom go either.

Ardyn knelt down in front of Prom and gently grabbed on to his upper arms and hurt could be heard in the immortal’s voice. “That’s not the point. Listen to me, sunbeam, your dad is… I won’t lie, he is in a very dangerous place right now and you will not be helping anyone if you go after him.”

“Then why can’t you go?” Prompto asked in a teary voice, not understanding why his dad couldn’t go.

Prompto wasn’t an idiot. He knew everyone was scared of his dad. He knew for certain that his daemon magic was second to none. It would be easy for his dad to go there and get him back without anyone knowing. Why wasn’t he doing just that! It wasn’t fair and all of this could have been sorted out weeks ago since he knew where he was.

And it broke Ardyn’s heart to see his son so close to tears. Because that is all he wanted to do. Get Cor back but he couldn’t… he wasn’t allowed to. 

“Because I can’t leave you here on your own and… when I shouted at Somnus the other day, I know I scared you and I am sorry, but I also scared myself. If I go after dad, I won’t be able to control myself and a lot of people might get hurt.”

“That’s because of the scourge?”

“Yes, you’re right it is because of that. My darling, I am so sorry that I scared you, I honestly didn’t mean too.”

“You were upset. It’s okay.”

“No my boy, it’s not.” Ardyn shook his head as he pulled Prompto into a hug and held onto him tightly. Ardyn was so angry at himself for scaring Prom like that. Somnus played it down to try and soothe his worries, but it didn’t work. Ardyn wanted to ensure that Prom knew that he would never hurt him. He stroked Prom’s back and controlled his voice so that it didn’t break. “But no matter how upset or angry I am, I never want to be the cause of your discomfort. I would never raise my voice at you or scare you on purpose. And I am very sorry that I scared you.”

Prom rubbed his eyes and hugged his dad back. “You’re worried. Because you don’t know when dad is coming back.”

“No Prom, we don’t.”

“But he will come back. He promised to always look after us.”

That made Ardyn smile. He wished he had Prom’s undying and shining optimism sometimes.

“I love you my Sunbeam.”

“I love you too. Can we take Cerbie for a walk?”

At the word walk Cerbie stood up and licked both of their faces with excitement.

The pair laughed and Ardyn made sure to pat all three of his dog’s heads before agreeing to his son’s suggestion. A walk would do them both good. “Why not. Get his lead.”

* * *

Cor was left alone in one of the conference rooms for a moment and he did not waste his first opportunity to make a run for it.

He stalked through the hallways with caution and stepped into a near by room whenever a MT walked passed. On the third time, he had to force himself into a room he found a weapon. It was a handgun and it had a few bullets in it. It may not be a sword but at least he had something to defend himself with. Luckily, for him, there was a coat on a chair. It looked warm enough for a trek outside. Going out in the freezing temperatures was a fool’s errand, especially with only this coat to keep him warm and a handgun to arm himself with. But he didn’t have another option.

Once he was certain the MT had gone, Cor slipped back through the door and ran for it. He had always been good at being light-footed when he ran and he knew if he didn’t get out now he wasn’t leaving this place alive. Cor just hoped as he sprinted through the rest of the corridor’s that he didn’t run into anyone. But he was at a disadvantage here. He didn’t know the layout of this fucking place. When he got Prom out all those years ago, he exited the same way he came through. He just prayed that his recklessness was going to go in his favour again.

And Cor thought his luck was running out when he turned the corner. And he was forced to stop running because in front of him was General Elactus. On instinct, Cor raised the gun at him and he was more than happy to shot the man him dead. 

The General raised his hands in the air and said calmly. “Put it down.”

“You would like that wouldn’t you.” Cor stated refusing to lower the weapon.

“I am not going to hurt you.”

“ELACTUS!!!”

Cor looked behind him and he heard the sound of marching coming their way. That was General Glauca’s voice. He was going to be dead if he didn’t run now. As he looked away, Elactus grabbed his arm and pushed Cor into the wall near a window. The man lifted up the curtain and roughly pushed Cor into the glass. Elactus threw the curtain over Cor, as he knew Glauca wouldn’t be able to see the Marshal, as the curtain extended all the way down to the floor. Elactus harshly gave an order to the Marshal. “Stay There.” 

Cor gulped and listened in to the conversation, trying his hardest not to move in case he accidentally gave away his hiding place.

“General Glauca.” Elactus voice sounded controlled but Glauca’s didn’t.

He sounded furious.

“Where is the Marshal?”

“In the conference room. I was just on my way there now.”

Glauca’s voice became more hostile when he responded to that lie. “He’s not there! Emperor Aldercapt wants to see him. If you have lost him, your job won’t be the only thing that you lose today.”

_Shit._ Cor thought to himself. No matter how much he distrusted the man that was currently concealing his location Cor couldn’t stand by and let him be butchered after he had helped him. The Marshal looked up to see if he could somehow get the curtain railing down and use it as a weapon. No good it was too high for him to reach. He didn’t care what he was going to do all the Marshal knew was that he had to do something quickly. Just as Cor was about to do something very stupid and reckless, Elactus’s voice prevented him from doing so. 

“Yes, I know. I haven’t lost him. I forgot, I ordered a few of the MT’s to take him to Besithia. The mad bat wanted to have a word with him about the child he stole. You will find him there.”

_Glauca wasn’t that stupid to fool for that. _

“You’re an odd one Elactus.”

_Perhaps he was… _

“Thank you, sir.”

Cor remained where he was and listened, hearing the heavy footsteps draw further away. Cor wasn’t that much of a fool and he waited until the curtain was drawn back before he even thought about moving. When Elactus opened the curtain Cor noticed he had a gun in his hands. The pair locked eyes and Cor held his breath not really sure of what the General was going to do next. Cor would have expected the man to put the gun to his heart and end his life there and then, get all the glory for stopping him from leaving. But that didn’t happen. Instead, Elactus grabbed his arm again and started pulling him down the hallway, in the opposite direction that Glauca had gone.

“Come with me and do exactly as I tell you.” Elactus whispered, refusing to let go. He still had the gun in his hand and Cor was bewildered as to what was going on.

In his confused state Cor asked: “Why did you do that?”

“I am getting you out of here.”

“What?” Cor stopped and tried to get out of his grasp.

But the General’s grip got tighter and he continued to drag Cor along with him. “If we don’t hurry up Besithia and Glauca will sound the alarm. You need to leave now.”

* * *

“Drautos said that a member of the glaive has managed to get in and they have reported back to him. But because Drautos is currently in Niflheim it is too risky to give us details at the moment. When he gets to the Lucian boarder we will know more.” Regis explained as his uncle furiously hit something off the bookshelf. 

“Why send that man!” Ardyn roared.

Ardyn hated Drautos so, so, much and he didn’t even know why. That weak individual may be the Captain of the Kingsglaive, but he couldn’t do what Ardyn could. Ardyn could make the entire Niff population scream just by stepping foot on their land. The immortal royal understood the risks of going himself, but he was a far better option than that man.

“I don’t care if you don’t like Drautos, he was the only one with the skills that we could spare and the only one I trust to do this.”

“Why didn’t you send me! I could poof there, get Cor and be back within 10 minutes.”

“No. End of. I am not losing you to a maniac.” Regis shook his head. He was getting tired of explaining this to his uncle.

“We are going around in circles.” Ardyn shouted again, this time pushing the entire bookshelf over with a single hit.

Regis closed his eyes at hearing the impact of the furniture hitting the ground. Ardyn needed to control his temper. Regis and Clarus were equally as enraged as he was. For starter’s the Emperor point blank refused to have any interaction at all with him, which meant Cor’s safety was continuing to be strained. Which made Regis feel worthless because he couldn’t even protect his best friend against the Niffs. He failed Noctis when he was 8 and now he was failing Cor, only a mere two years later. All that guilt mixed with his uncle’s rage was not giving off a good atmosphere.

“I am afraid we will continue to do so until you understand that I am doing this for your own good.”

“My own good!”

Ardyn had taken offence to that and thankfully Somnus heard the shouts from his brother from outside of the room and walked in, so he could try and defuse the situation.

“Ardyn! Regis! Stop it now!”

“You expect me to listen to you?” Ardyn laughed, taking a deep breath in to get a hold of himself.

“Yes, I do. Because in case you have forgotten brother dear, if anything should happen to both you and Cor, I am your son’s next of kin. If you don’t want me to look after him for the rest of his life, you will listen to Regis and allow him to get Cor back while you stay out of it.”

After hearing that statement Ardyn’s eyes widened and he ran out of the door. He was going to change Prom’s next of kin this instant. Somnus was not raising his precious boy, never, ever, never!

Regis nodded at Somnus and gave him a weak smile. “Thank you, Grandfather.”

* * *

Cor and Elactus ran into a few soldier’s on the way down to the basement of the palace, and each time they did, Elactus placed the gun at Cor’s back and told them he was taking the Marshal to a cell on order by the Emperor. No one questioned it. Cor was starting to think that the people around here were just plain stupid. If this was to happen at the Citadel, a note would have been given to the man who had been placed in charge of the prisoner. But none of them checked and they made it down to the basement with ease.

When they got down there, Elactus dragged Cor to the far end of the darkened place and pressed a button on the wall. When the wall opened it revealed a tunnel that looked like it went on forever. The tunnel was covered in a thick blanket of snow and Cor was just confused as to what Elactus was doing. Before Cor could ask any more questions, the General wrapped a scarf around his neck and shoved the gun that he had been holding in one of the large pockets of the coat Cor had stolen.

“Take this snowmobile. When you get out of the tunnel, keep traveling straight forward, and in a few days you will make it to Tenebrae.”

“What if I am caught?” Cor asked, quickly sitting on the vehicle to check how much fuel it had. It was full. What? Had Elactus already planned for this to happen?

“If you hurry up you won’t be. And don’t worry if the alarms have been raised before you get out it won’t matter. This is an emergency exit, only this key will be able to block your escape.” Elactus said pulling the key from out of his pocket. The man put the key in the pocket that he had placed the handgun in and nodded at Cor.

“You could die for doing this.” Cor said, feeling conflicted. He wanted to thank the man for doing this but at the same time… he knew he shouldn’t trust him.

“I am tired of the Empire. And if I beat those two buffoons to the Emperor, I will be fine.”

Cor wasn’t so sure. From what he had seen over the years and experienced now, he knew for certain they would kill him on the spot. That would be the kindest thing to happen. For this offense, Cor could see the elder man being thrown to Verstael as a part of his experiments. But now wasn’t the time to think on that. As this was probably Cor’s only chance to leave and he was not wasting it. “Gods speed, Elactus.”

“Gods speed Leonis.”

Before Cor could start the engine on the snowmobile, the room turned pitch black and a series of red, ear piecing, sirens started to blare. That meant they knew Cor was missing and they knew that Elactus was the last person to see him.

“Shit!” Elactus shouted, allowing the fear of his certain demise to consume him.

Cor didn’t allow the fear to take to him. He turned on the engine but refused to leave. He was not about to let the man who had just saved his life die.

“Get on! Now you idiot!”

* * *

Cor drove the vehicle through the blizzard, that had come out of nowhere, with Elactus sat behind him holding on for dear life. Cor could barely see a thing which to him was a good thing. It meant he would be difficult to track down. Not to mention that tunnel came out far beyond the reaches of Gralea, and he assumed that everyone would think he was still in the palace. But eventually the snow, cold and winds became too much and the pair were forced to find some sort of cover.

Even if they couldn’t see, Elactus had a vague idea as to where they were and directed the Marshal to a cave.

When they got in the cave, Cor was quick to start a fire so that they didn’t freeze. It was getting dark outside and that only meant one thing. Niflheim was a mouse compared to the monsters that plagued the darkness. The burning embers had now become vital as they wouldn’t only provide warmth, they would provide them with protection for as long as it continued to burn.

This was going to be a long night. 

Elactus sat by the fire and stared into the flames. “The snow will hide the tracks.”

Again it seemed the blizzard had gone in their favour. But right now, Cor wasn’t worried about that. He was more concerned with the Niffs plans. He was still a General to the Imperial Emperor and Cor wouldn’t put it passed the man to call the army and send him back. Then again, why would he of put his life on the line for his? It didn’t make sense, and Cor was determined to get answers.

But Cor didn’t want to make it too obvious as to what he was doing. He took a tactical approach with his wording. “What will you do now?”

“Go back.”

“They will kill you.”

“No, they won’t.”

“You’re an idiot to think they won’t.” Cor came to the conclusion that his ‘saviour’ was just as crazy as the rest of them. Stuck in a delusional mindset where they’re Emperor could do no wrong and were chosen by the Gods. The Aldercapt family wasn’t. And all of them were stupid to believe that.

They sat in silence for a while and it gave Cor time to think. Think of a way to get a message to Ardyn to tell him, he was alright and was making his way back home. There was no doubt in Cor’s mind that Ardyn was going off the rails and poor Regis was having to deal with it. And Prom… Cor wondered how he was coping with all of this. His son must be scared that he wasn’t coming back. Cor couldn’t allow that worry to continue. Cor needed his son safe in his arms and he needed to be back home to calm Ardyn down and stop him from burning Niflheim to the ground. That was more of Somnus’s thing, but Cor could see the brothers working together to achieve that.

Ardyn and Somnus working together… That itself was a terrifying thought.

Something else kept seeping into his head though. General Elactus name. Because Elactus wasn’t a surname it was a first name. Not even that, it was a Lucian first name. That was why Cor had never heard it in Niflheim before because it wasn’t from Niflheim.

Cor cleared his throat and looked up from the fire. “Elactus? That’s not a Niflheimain name.”

“No. And it’s not my real name either. It was my father’s first name, Cor. My real name is Forctis.”

The General finally turned his face away from the flames and when their eyes locked. Cor’s face dropped.

“…. Uncle Forctis?”

“Hello, Corey.”


	4. Fears Shared

Cor caught his breath as he took his first proper look at the man he hadn’t seen in 25 years. A man he believed to be dead all that time. When really he had been hiding out in this frostbitten place working for the very people who wanted to destroy his family. There weren’t many things that shocked the Marshal but seeing his uncle alive and well had definitely done it.

Forctis looked nervous as he continued to stare back at him. “I am certain you have many things you want to say.”

“Yes, and the majority of them are not repeatable.” Cor growled back. 

“I deserve it all. You don’t have to trust me.”

“I don’t trust you! You are working with the Niffs! I thought you were dead!” Cor couldn’t help but raise his voice in disgust.

“Did your dad and mum tell you that?” Forctis asked quietly rubbing his wrist in an uncomfortable manner.

“Yes.”

Just from that action, Cor knew it was his uncle. Cor remembered after every fight that his uncle and dad had, his uncle would grab at his wrist and rub it. It was a way to relax himself. Cor had a similar quirk, Ardyn scratching his head always relaxed him. And right now, he could really do with that. This was very surreal to the Marshal and he felt like kicking himself as he didn’t even recognise his own flesh and blood. But then again, why would he? Appearances changed over the years and Cor didn’t really remember much before he joined the Crownsguard. But what he did remember was that there wasn’t much joy in the life he had been given before he met Regis and Ardyn, and seeing his uncle was making him angry. Very angry. 

Forctis looked down in shame and his voice sounded as guilty as he felt. “That is because I asked them too. Corey-”

“Do NOT call me that!”

Hearing that nickname again made Cor’s eyes burn with rage. His voice echoed through the cave and the sound made Forctis jump. How dare Forctis think he could be familiar with him?! The now-former General of Niflheim had no right to call him that. He had no right to be so familiar with him, they had only met a few weeks ago and it was under false pretenses. If the General thought that they were just going to get along like that, then he was more than delusional. 

“Cor…” Forctis said with caution, sensing how angry and upset his long-lost nephew was. “I am ashamed of what I have done. Please, let me explain what happened.”

Cor couldn’t fucking believe this. “Why should I? I haven’t seen you since I was 10. You don’t deserve anything from me not even after you got me out of there.”

The Marshal stood up and moved away from the flames. He could not stand to be in this man’s presence any longer. Cor bitterly tightened the scarf that was around his neck and checked the loaded guns in his pockets. The one he had picked up had a few bullets in and the other Forctis gave him was full. Cor shook his head, put the safety on and threw it on the floor near the man who was still sitting by the flames. He was not accepting that gift from him. Cor was riddled with shock and anger and he didn’t know if he wanted to face up to this reality that had been forced upon him, or that he even could. All Cor had known for the majority of his life was that he was the only living member of his family, beside Prom and Ardyn of course. Cor had been on his own for so long, he was used to that idea. Used to the idea of being alone with no one else to bear his name or the troubles he had to face before he was 13. Now he learnt that his only blood relative left was working with the fucking NIFFS!

He was going, he couldn’t stand here for much longer. Cor ensured his coat was fastened as high as it would go and made his way to the entrance of the cave.

“Where are you going?” Forctis asked in an alarmed tone, standing up not sure of what Cor was doing.

“Tenebrae.” Cor simply replied not stopping in his tracks.

Forctis ran in front of Cor and blocked him from moving any further. There was clear panic and urgency in his voice, upon hearing Cor’s reckless declaration. He had read and heard stories of his nephews dangerous and stupid stunts and he was not about to let this be one of them. 

“You’re not going out there! It is dark, there is daemons and it’s freezing, you won’t last an hour out there.”

“My survival rate has surpassed that of three monarchs. I think I’ll be fine.” Cor rolled his eyes pushing passed him. Again, it was not this man’s place to be concerned for his welfare.

“No. Cor listen to me it’s not safe.”

“And I am safe with you? The man who left us and sold Lucis out?!” Cor shouted back. That was the thing Cor found very hard to stomach. Was that this man had no problem leaving and cosying up to the enemy’s side.

“It wasn’t just me! Your parents are in on the scheme too!”

Forctis’s shouts finally made Cor stop. He turned around and saw regret and hurt on the man’s face. Cor didn’t think about them, but hearing that it made his stomach turn and twist. They never really paid him much attention when he was younger but he never thought…

Because Forctis had got Cor’s attention he continued to try and get Cor to listen to his side of things before Cor had another rash and life-threatening idea. “What do you think all that drug dealing was for? It wasn’t just drugs they were dealing it was information on the weak points of the wall and on Insomnia’s defensives. Please let me explain, you don’t have to trust me but please listen.”

Cor took in a deep breath and against his better nature and the feeling of dread that had come over him, Cor returned back to the fire. And simply said, refusing to look at Forctis.

“You have until dawn.”

Forctis made it clear that he was more than relieved by Cor’s change of heart. He hurried back over to the fire and sat down the entrance side of the flames. That way it would have been easier to stop Cor from storming off once he learnt the truth.

Forctis didn’t even know if he was going to accept it or believe him, but the General had waited for this moment since it had been announced that Cor was the Marshal of the Crownsguard. That was to finally meet his nephew again, even if they were talking about something that was going to be painful to hear. The older man didn’t know whether to dread it or be relieved that Cor was going to listen.

He honestly didn’t know how he was going to react, as he didn’t know Cor. But it was only right that he knew. He spoke calmly to ensure that Cor listened. “Right. As you know, your mum is the fourth generation that came over from Niflheim before the war started. But what you don’t know is that she and the rest of her family hold a great hatred for Lucis. And when Durum, your dad met her, he fell into her way of thinking. Because he’s my older brother I felt that I had to follow suit to ensure that he didn’t get hurt. We knew the risks of doing this, so when we started to do dealings with the Niffs we told them that our surname was ‘Elactus’, that way if either of us ever had any children, they would have been safe. The Niffs asked that we listen in, make deals with people who had inside information on the wall and the country. You see, no one would suspect a couple of working-class citizen’s to under mind them so the police, guard, and glaive had no reason to sort us out. However, when you turned 10, we were in too deep and the Niffs wanted one of us to go to Niflheim as leverage so that we wouldn’t betray them. Because your parents had you, I decided to go so you wouldn’t have to get involved.”

Cor blinked. That… that was hard to swallow. But that didn’t surprise the Marshal in the slightest. His parents had always kept secrets from him and with the drugs, or information… they used to hide it under his bed so they were difficult to find. Meaning that unwillingly he had once helped the Niffs destroy his home. What would the media make of that? His family being a part of Niflheim when he devoting his life to the country he loved… Cor finally realised that they couldn’t have been further apart in personality and loyalty. He told Ardyn once that they weren’t good people, and apparently, he didn’t even know the half of it.

He looked at Forctis and again he saw the regret on his face.

But all of that made the situation slightly amusing considering that he was in a cave on the run from the very people that his uncle and parents had tried ‘so very hard’ to protect him from. But even after learning the truth Cor was in no position to trust Forctis.

“‘Involved?’ That backfired didn’t it?”

“I didn’t know you would join the Crownsguard at such a young age, or that they would even let you.”

“Let me?” Cor questioned, confused by what he meant.

“Your dad and mum. They must have let you. I know they care little for anyone but themselves, but I would have thought they wouldn’t have forced their own son to do something so dangerous.”

_Shit… he didn’t know._

“They didn’t let me. They’re dead.”

Forctis expression dropped and he asked in a whisper. “What?”

“They died when I was 12.” Cor said bluntly. He was getting tired of the topic of his parents.

Forctis shook his head in disbelief. He didn’t believe Cor. That wasn’t true. That couldn’t be true. He hadn’t been told anything. In fact, whenever he asked after his brother’s welfare, he was told that he was well and would continue to be so if he kept in line. Forctis had done so as much as he could. Cor must be being bitter because he finally knew the truth.

“They can’t be. Niflheim said they were…”

“That they were what? Keeping low? That they had nearly been caught and thought it best they kept out the way for a bit? They are dead. I had to watch them die, I had to bury them. You’ve been lied too for years.”

Cor didn’t feel anything when he said that. It was a harsh truth to stomach but no more than the bitter pill he had to swallow finding out his family were nothing but a bunch of backstabbing traitors. Somnus was going to love to hear this.

Cor focused on Forctis and there was nothing but despair on his face. Cor felt guilty now. He may feel shocked and uncertain by all these revelations that had now come out, but he was not a heartless person. And being told that your brother was dead, was not something anyone wanted to hear.

Forctis let go a few tears. “My brother… I am sorry. I guess I was stupid to believe I was ever going to see him again.”

“Here.” Cor sigh, passing him a handkerchief that he found in one of the coat pockets.

“Thank you, Cor.” Forctis sniffed accepting the tiny gesture.

* * *

“Regis.” Clarus gulped as he entered the King’s office.

“What? What’s wrong?” Regis said, in a wary voice, putting aside whatever document that he had been reading for the past hour.

Clarus had just gotten off the phone to Drautos and it wasn’t good news. The Shield thought he should have gone to tell Ardyn straight away but His Grace would have gone off the handles with what the Captain had told him. There was a lot of reason to threat but he thought it better to break the news to Regis first.

“There are a mixture of reports on Cor. Some are claiming that he’s dead. Don’t worry, I have spoken to Drautos and he tells me a different story. Apparently, he has escaped, and they are only saying it to stir things up between our nations.”

“So there is no evidence of his death.” Regis asked, with his heart in his mouth.

“None. But there is no evidence that he is alive either.”

The King closed his eyes and prayed to all the Gods that for once Cor would live up to his nickname. Things weren’t looking good. Ardyn was becoming more erratic as the days went on, and Prompto was getting more upset. Which in turn was making his uncle more hostile as he was unable to do anything. Despite all of that Regis knew he could not keep this from Ardyn.

Regis nodded, getting a hold of his emotions, before asking Clarus. “Where’s Ardyn now?”

“Here.”

Regis turned around and saw Ardyn staring out the window. Neither of them had noticed that Ardyn had slipped in here. Clarus walked over and stood next to Regis as he could practically see the hurt and anger coming off the Immortal Royal. And Ardyn remained silent. Not moving. This was probably down to the shock of hearing what they had all feared.

“Ardyn, there is no need to panic. As I just said there is nothing to suggest that he is dead.” Clarus said, trying to help by lessening Ardyn’s worries. But it wasn’t going to work.

Ardyn bowed his head, speaking in a cold voice. “My husband could be dead in a ditch somewhere. And you are telling me there is no need to panic.”

Regis rose from his chair and pushed passed Clarus’s arm, that his Shield had put up to prevent Regis from ending up in the firing line of Ardyn’s rage. “He may not be. He fought Gilgamesh, you know better than anyone else what level of skill and will power that takes. The odds are that he is fine. This is Cor we are talking about.”

“Drautos is doing what he can to find him.” Clarus butted in and prevented himself from grabbing Regis’s arm to pull him away from his uncle.

“You have every right to be worried, but please Ardyn, please for Prom try to remain calm.”

Ardyn finally turned around, and the King and Shield saw the scourge pouring out of his eyes. His eyes weren’t glowing, but the whites of his eyes were red. This was embarrassing for him, crying in front of his nephew and Clarus. 

“I am afraid, none of what either of you have just said is helping me.” Ardyn gasped, feeling more hopeless than he had since he discovered Cor was missing.

The sight made Regis’s heart drop and despite knowing the danger, he walked right up to Ardyn and opened his arms out to him.

“Do you want a hug?”

“Y-Y-Yes.”

* * *

It had been a few days since they escaped from the Niffs.

Cor was determined to get the tyrants off his trail. They drove the snowmobile towards Tenebrae for a few days but once the fuel light started to turn red Cor decided to abandon it. The vehicle was from the heart of Niflheim after all and it was more than likely being tracked by them. So he parked it up in front of a tree, left the engine running and shot at the fuel tank until it exploded.

From there they had to go on foot. It was bloody freezing but they didn’t have any other option. Cor had survived worse than this, and Forctis was still wearing his armor, so he was warm enough to walk in this tundra wasteland. 

During their long walk, Forctis wanted to get to know Cor. In order for him to do that, he had to be completely honest with his nephew. Which started with telling Cor that he had tried to keep up to date with everything that the Marshal had been doing for the past 25 years. Which involved reading newspaper articles and keeping an ear out on his activities. Just from that he found out about Cor becoming Marshal, marrying into the royal family, which he didn’t approve of but he was in no position to comment, and that he had stolen and adopted one of Verstael’s clones. And Forctis expressed how impressed he was with how far Cor had come and that he was living up to the family name that he had abandoned all those years ago. Cor didn’t really say much to that. He didn’t really say a lot, he mainly told him to ‘shut up’ or say a snide comment whenever Forctis started to pity himself. Forctis did try to stop doing that but when it came to explaining his job in Niflheim it was tricky not to. Because the elder Leonis knew he could never go back, he might as well spill the secrets that the mad nation had.

Cor listened to this part. He still felt like he owed this man nothing. But if he was going to willingly give him intel, he would be a fool not to listen.

His estranged uncle told him that his main job was to go out on campaigns and keep the peace within Niflheim. Which usually meant he had to kill a few innocent to achieve it, but he only did that to keep himself alive. Cor was horrified that he would willingly do that, but in a way, Cor was no better. He had killed a lot of people to get out of sticky situations so in a way they were quite similar. It appeared the need and will power to stay alive ran in the family. Forctis also explained that he had some part to play in Verstael’s experiments but not in the way Cor first thought. His job was to keep the man in check and to ensure that he didn’t push the boundaries too far. That was why Verstael had no choice but to obey when Forctis told him to get lost, which made Cor laugh. But now the slimy old rat didn’t have anyone to keep him in check and that could be a problem later down the line. Forctis said he fathered no children because it wouldn’t be fair on them to be born into such a corrupt nation and when Cor asked why he didn’t just run away before, he told him that Cor and his dad were the reason. That he didn’t want to risk their lives. But also that he detested the Lucian royal family for their treatment of Lucis and pulling back the wall. Going back to a nation that seemed to care less for its people then Niflheim did felt more demeaning than staying put. 

Forctis did try to get Cor to tell him about himself. But all he got was that he wanted to go home and be with his family.

Soon they came to a forest. They weren’t too far from the Tenebraen border now, and the knowledge that Cor was nearly halfway towards freedom gave him hope. Hope that he was going to have Prom back in his arms and Ardyn by his side. The thought of his family did sadden him though, as all it would take would be for Ardyn to lose his temper or Cor to fall into a trap and they would definitely never see each other again. For that reason, Cor didn’t want to get his hopes up too high. Not until he had crossed the border.

“What is it?” Forctis asked, looking at his nephew with concern.

“Nothing.” Cor said moving onwards, keeping an ear out in case a wild animal or even a Niflheim soldier was to get the jump on them.

“Corey I am-”

“Stop calling me that.” Cor snapped, shooting him a death glare. He kept doing it and it was driving him crazy. 

That put the man back in his box. Forctis nodded and shamelessly asked for forgiveness. “I am sorry. There is something troubling you and it’s your family isn’t it?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Cor you will see them again.”

Forctis knew his words of comfort would do nothing to soothe his nephew’s worries. As Cor hadn’t responded well to anything he had said over the last few days. The only time they appeared to get along was when Forctis reminded him of the time they had spent together. Like when he would pick him up from school or take him to self-defence classes before he left Cor with his parents. The stoned faced Marshal lived up to his name alright, and he never let on that he enjoyed reflecting on those times. But he didn’t bite Forctis’s head off either, so the ex-General thought that Cor was slightly warming up to him.

And to Cor, his uncle was… frustrating him. He was trying to concentrate on how to get them through this forest, he didn’t want to be reminded as to why he was sad. “That’s not what I am focusing on right now. I am trying to figure out a way to get out of Niflheim and Tenebrae without being caught.”

“Tell me what you need.” Forctis offered, trying to get Cor to see that all he wanted to do was help.

But the sentiment made Cor laugh. “Do you think that I trust you? After all, you’ve done?”

“I helped you escape. I risked my life for you. Isn’t that enough?”

And his words only made the exhausted Marshal snap. “That’s because I am your nephew and you feel that you have to for my dad. Well, my dad is dead. I thought you were dead. You don’t have any obligation towards me. You willingly worked for Niflheim and I am the Marshal of the Crownsguard and His Grace’s husband. Meaning that we are enemies in this bitter and bloody war. I think it is best if we go our separate ways.”

That was something Cor had been thinking about ever since he discovered that this man was his uncle. Cor didn’t want him dead and if he remained in Niflheim or even Tenebrae for that matter he would be hunted down and killed for treason. But if he came back to Insomnia with him, Somnus would have a fit and convince Regis to exile him. Cor wouldn’t blame either Somnus or Regis for feeling they had to do that. Forctis hated the royal family and there was no telling what he would do if he returned back to Insomnia. It was better to end things here.

“You’re going to leave me here.” Forctis looked hurt and he sounded hurt too. Cor was the only family he had left and now he was going to leave him.

Cor didn’t really care… well, he did a little bit, but he had far too much loyalty to his country and his family to put them endanger. “You left me with my parents.”

“You’re hurting.”

“No. Any hurt I felt, left me a long time ago.”

“Then why leave me?” Forctis stopped walking.

Cor should have listened to his senses and carried on walking and allow the man to wallow in self-pity, but that went against a lot of his morals. Forctis may have betrayed him but he wasn’t going to lie. After all, he did save his life, and giving him a reason as to why he felt that this was the kindest thing Cor could do, was all Cor was willing to give him in return for his help.

“Because you can’t come back to Insomnia with me. You are a traitor and my brother-in-law will want to see you dead for what you have done. Not to mention, they probably know that the Niffs had me and my husband will not hold back if he gets his hands on a single Niff, including you. It is better if we just go back to pretending you are dead.”

“I see.” Forctis nodded, understanding Cor’s words. But… he still felt he owed Cor so much. And if Cor wouldn’t let him be his uncle, he wanted to do one more kind thing for him. “Well at least allow me to do one decent thing before we depart.”

“No.” Cor shook his head, getting ready to walk away again.

“Cor, I am your uncle and I want to make up for everything.”

“Are you my uncle? Because what I remember of my uncle, was that he loved his family and the country he was born into. You may have never been there for me, but from what I can remember you fed me sometimes. I remember you telling me stories of you and dad when you were younger. I thought that man would never, ever, betray me like this. You knew I was the Marshal of the Crownsguard so why didn’t you quit and come home? I know you said that I would be endangered, but you should have taken that risk. That is what I find hard to forgive.”

Now Cor was showing he was hurt. Deep down he was. He just didn’t want to admit it. Cor was leaving Forctis behind was because of what Somnus and Ardyn might do to him, but it was also because he didn’t want to get attached again. He grieved for this man once and he was not going to do it again.

“I can’t change the past. But please I want to be there for you now. I want to help you get home.” Forctis gave him a soft smile and reached into his pocket, pulled out a phone and handed it to Cor. “This is an Accordian phone. The Niffs won’t be able to trace the call. You can call your husband and tell him to come and get you.”

“I don’t believe it can’t be traced.”

“It will be harder for them to hack in to. But if you do it on Tenebrae ground the harder it will be for them to access anything.”

“This is a trick to get me to stay with you longer.” Cor concluded, expecting the worse, and he tried to place the phone back into Forctis’s hand.

But Forctis shook his head and refused to take it. “It’s not. I want to give this to you. Take the phone and go.” 

Cor reluctantly placed the phone into his own pocket and finally walked away. He didn’t hear footsteps follow him so he thought that Forctis was being true to his word. Which was good. Yes, it was good, it meant that Cor only had to look out for himself now. And that he had a chance to get home. Get a chance to speak to Ardyn and Prom. That brought a smile to his face---

BANG!

Cor whipped his head around and saw Forctis fall to the ground, grunting in pain. Cor sprung into action and ran over to Forctis before picking him up and dragging him to a nearby boulder for cover. Cor heard more shots being fired and he kept low as he tended to his uncle’s wound. 

“Forctis! Are you alright?”

“Fuck my shoulder!”

Forctis breathed putting all the pressure he could onto the freshly made bullet wound. The blood was seeping threw his hand and his breathing turned ragged due to the shock. Cor quickly, picked up a lump of snow, took Forctis’s hand away from the wound, before making him hold the snow and returning his hand back to where he had it before. They left Niflheim with nothing but the weapons they had stolen and the clothes on their backs Cor couldn’t heal him. The sound of firearms didn’t stop and that help Cor figure out what to do. There couldn’t be any more than 4 gunmen patrolling the forest, meaning that Cor was going to be fine to take them on his own.

“Keep low.” Cor ordered, before taking the gun off his uncle and shuffling along so he could see where he needed to aim for.

“Cor what are you doing?” Forctis asked through the pain.

“Getting us out of here alive.”


	5. We're Running Out Of Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is very long... 
> 
> So sorry about that, but only one more to go after this one!!!
> 
> Please enjoy :)

After Cor had taken care of the gunmen, he pulled off his scarf, wrapping it around the wound on his uncle and pulled Forctis to his feet. He made sure he could stand by himself before encouraging him to run. Cor did this because he was certain that they weren’t rogue foot soldier’s patrolling the area. They needed to get out of that forest fast and find some shelter. Cor pushed Forctis in front of him, holding both of the guns and made sure that no one attacked them from the rear. His uncle looked like he was in pain but there was nothing Cor could do to help that. In the heat of the moment he forgot all about the phone and just prayed that they were able to get away by speed and stamina alone.

When they got out of the forest the pair came to an abandoned town. Fortctis explained after the attack on Tenebrae many people fled the border’s in case, they were caught in the crossfire of it all and some towns were never repopulated. This was one of the towns. Cor told Forctis that they had to push on until they found suitable cover and one of the abandoned houses wouldn’t do. If the Niffs were hot on their trail, they would be a lot easier to find in a small confined space. The Marshal pulled his uncle to an old and crumbling warehouse and Cor thought that was their best bet. Because he was determined not to be found they went right into the centre of the building and hid amongst the unused machinery and boxes of supplies that the place used to produce. It would appear that the warehouse was actually a factory, a cereal factory. Just their luck. Cor would find somewhere to hide where there would be no fucking potions or elixir’s available. There was no time to find another hiding place, this would have to make do for now.

Forctis sat on the floor and he looked exhausted. He sat up against a series of wooden crates and slowly started to remove the armour where he had been shot. Cor knelt down beside him and tried his best to help but Forctis told him to stay away and let him do it himself. When the metal plate had been removed the sight would be enough to make even Clarus gag. It looked as if a bear or something had attacked him. Bone was visible and it was clearly broken and cracked. The flesh around the wound looked like it had already begun to rot. There wasn’t as much blood as Cor had expected from a wound like that, but Cor had never seen a bullet do that much damage before. He had never seen any weapon do that.

“What the fuck did they shoot you with?” Cor asked looking around to see if he could find anything else to cover up the wound with.

Forctis felt himself begin to panic at the sight of his bone sticking out of his body and he sounded breathless. Which was down to the shock and pain he was currently suffering. “Probably some experimental weapon.”

“Shit! Is there any potions in here!” Cor shouted kicking at the useless crap that was around them.

“There won’t be. When the people fled from the Niffs, they took what was necessary to survive and potions fall into that category.”

“There must be something I can do.”

“You could leave me here. That’s what you want. You want to go home.”

“I will not leave you here to die like this.” Cor looked at him with disbelief. The Marshal shook his head and knelt beside his uncle and reassured him that he wasn’t going anywhere. 

Cor only wanted to depart so that he didn’t have to watch his uncle and saver be harmed or treated badly in Insomnia. After all, Forctis risked his life to get him out. His entire life and career had disappeared because he decided to protect him. Cor was not about to let a man like that die. Right now, nothing mattered. Not what Forctis had done in the past or Insomnia. This was a life and death situation. Forctis had to live. He had to. And Cor was going to make sure of that.

“There’s no point.” Forctis grunted as he moved, and it sent a shockwave of pain to run through his body. Whatever had hit him… he was just glad that Cor wasn’t the one who was suffering this.

“Yes, there is! No matter what, living should always be the option you choose.” Cor notice that Forctis let out a soft smile when he said that. He didn’t understand what had caused a reaction like that. Cor had always lived by those words. It was something that everyone should follow. “What?”

“You probably won’t want to hear this, but you sound like your dad.”

“I suppose I had to get my stubbornness from somewhere.”

That made Forctis laugh but the laughed soon turned into a cough. Cor lent him forward and patted his back. They needed to get out of here. Cor thought to himself what the pair had between them. Which was two guns, well one gun now. Cor’s gun ran out of bullets when he was dealing with the shooters. And that was it. They had no fire, no potions and it would be dark soon. There was already so many dark corners in the factory and there was no telling how many daemons had already caught on to the scent of his uncle’s blood and were out to finish him off. With Forctis injured like this, he would be easy pickings for the daemons.

Daemons….

Ardyn!

“The phone!” Cor exclaimed, taking the phone out of his pocket. He quickly checked that it hadn’t been broken and when he was satisfied it was working and he had signal he started to dial Ardyn’s phone number in. 

Forctis placed his hand on the phone and pushed it down, preventing Cor from carrying on with the task he had set himself. “What are you doing? You shouldn’t use it until you get over the border.”

“We’re not going to get over the border, not with how you are now. I am calling Ardyn to come to get us.”

“Cor… it’s dangerous. It may be difficult to track but the Niffs can still access it if you ring him here.” Forctis warned as he felt his shoulder begin to burn in pain.

Cor shook his head and moved backwards so Forctis couldn’t stop him. “I don’t care. You better be ready to meet your nephew-in-law.”

* * *

Ardyn didn’t trust himself after he cried on Regis. He was ready to jump the gun and go to Niflheim blindly. All he wanted to do was find Cor but that idea was stupid if he had no leads. Because of that Ardyn came to a sensible conclusion and he thought it best if he remained with either Regis or Somnus until Drautos had contacted them with any new information. Ardyn didn’t have to worry about Prompto, him and Noct were just being dropped off to school by a member of the glaive.

The three royals were sitting in Regis’s living area with cups of tea in front of them. But none of them could touch it. They were all too worried about Cor and were hoping that Drautos got in touch soon.

Somnus suddenly jumped in his chair, as he felt something vibrate next to his leg. He reached down the side of his chair and found Ardyn’s phone.

“Ardyn, your phone’s ringing. It’s an unknown number from an Accordian phone.” Somnus said, offering the phone to his brother.

Ardyn rubbed his eyes and groaned. He didn’t really want to talk to anyone who wasn’t family at the moment. “Answer it for me, please. It could be one of the hat makers I have been in conversation with.”

“You’re thinking of getting a new hat?!” Regis said in a surprised tone. His uncle would never replace that tatty old fedora even if something had happened to Cor.

“No. It’s for Prom. Well… unless someone wants to buy me a crown. I would never object to that.”

Somnus laughed at Regis’s face as it dropped with ease and then he rolled his eyes at his uncle’s joke (It was never a joke when he said things like that) His grandson was an odd one. He picked up the call and placed the phone to his ear. 

“Hello.”

“_Somnus? Is that you?_”

“Cor!” Somnus shouted in relief, instantly getting Ardyn’s and Regis’s attention. “Wait a second I’ll put you on speaker.”

Somnus just managed to put it on speaker before Ardyn snatched his phone out of his brother’s hands and spoke like lightening down the phone. Desperate to hear his husband’s voice. 

“Cor darling! Are you alright?”

_“Hey, Ass Hat. Yeah, I am okay.” _

Ardyn tilted his head back and he was close to tears with how relieved he was. He thought he fucking lost him. It had been weeks since he heard his voice and Ardyn was so unbelievably happy to know that Cor was okay. But he wouldn’t make a song and dance about it yet. Not until he had both Cor and Prompto safely in his arms.

“Where are you?” Regis said coming closer to the phone, being on Ardyn’s wavelength. They needed to get him out of Niflheim now.

“What the hell happened?” Somnus added.

_“Gods! Can all of you hold fire for a second!” _

“At least you are well enough to snap at us.” Ardyn laughed.

_“Trust me I am fine. I am on my way back now.” _

“Somnus, contact Drautos and tell him to get his arse back here.” Regis ordered and Somnus did not need to be told that twice. He ran out of the room and made his way to the Glaives barracks. As Ardyn was clearly too emotional to think straight, Regis had to remain focused and find out where Cor was so they could get him back. “Can you tell us where you are?”

_“I’m just outside the Tenebrean border, and Ardyn, I need you to come and get me.” _

“I will be there in a second.”

_“Wait. Before you two think the worst. I am fine, completely fine. But the person who helped me escape isn’t. I need you to bring elixir’s and potion’s so I can help him.” _

“What’s wrong with him?” Ardyn asked worryingly.

Cor must be really stuck if he was asking for potions. Suddenly Ardyn’s mind was telling him that Cor had lied to him and was actually asking it for himself. Ardyn felt himself start to get panicky and because Cor knew his husband so well he knew what was going on. He tried to sooth Ardyn’s worries. 

_“Ardyn I promise you I am okay, please don’t panic. And neither of you freak out but we got shot at and whatever they have used has nearly taken his arm off. I just need something to slow down whatever is happening to him.” _

“Every time you speak you are doing nothing to fill us with confidence.” Regis commented feeling on edge too.

“Right I will bring all of that. Regis, I promise I will be back soon.”

“Be careful Ardyn.”

“I will. Darling tell me exactly where you are.”

* * *

“….thanks, see you in a second.” Cor said ending the call knowing what could happen if that conversation lasted for much longer.

Cor turned his attention back to his uncle and he looked even worse than he had done less than 5 minutes ago. His face had gone white and his eyes had gone glassy. Cor dropped the phone and shook Forctis to see how quickly he was reacting. He wasn’t reacting as sharply as the Marshal had hoped. His uncle struggled to move his head to look at Cor properly and he looked disoriented.

“Forctis. Look at me, are you alright?” Cor kept his voice as firm as he could. There wasn’t any time for panicking now.

“Potions, I thought I deserved what I got.” Forctis said tiredly. 

“I didn’t mean that. You don’t deserve to die like this.”

“I would prefer to die like this the-”

“COR!”

Cor snapped his head in the direction of Ardyn’s voice but he couldn’t see him anywhere. He must have teleported in the wrong place. Cor stood up, he knew it was unsafe to leave his uncle in the state he was in, but they couldn’t afford to waste any time. Every single second counted right now, and if Ardyn was even a minute late his uncle may die. Cor didn’t have another option he had to find Ardyn and get back to Forctis as quick as possible.

“Ardyn... I will be back in a second. Hold on, I am coming back!” Cor ordered, before turning to run towards his husband’s voice. Cor than began to shout his name back so Ardyn would be able to locate him, hence saving more time. “ARDYN!”

Cor ran out into the main area of the factory and saw Ardyn on the other side of the massive room. Cor caught his breath, he had waited for this for weeks and now Ardyn was finally in the same room as him. The Marshal didn’t stop, he kept running so he would get to Ardyn quicker. Within a second of Cor’s mad dash, Ardyn caught sight of him and a smile of joy and relief painted his face.

“My Marshal…” Ardyn whispered before warping the rest of the way to Cor. Ardyn place both of his hands to his husband’s face and whimpered with joy as he kissed him lovingly. He felt Cor’s hands rest on his face too and the pair were on the verge of tears with happiness as they finally had each other back in their arms.

Between kisses, Ardyn asked again: “Are you okay?”

Cor forced their lips apart and rested his forehead against Ardyn’s and refused to let tears fall. “I am fine, I promise. Is Prom alright?”

“Yes, he’s perfectly alright. Worried but nothing more. I have missed you so much. You have no idea how worried I have been.” 

“I’ve missed you too.” Cor said pulling his face away to finally get a proper look of Ardyn. He missed waking up and looking into his golden tainted eyes every morning. Ardyn’s eyes gave him a sense of security and now he felt the safest he had in weeks. One of Ardyn’s hand’s dropped from Cor’s face while the other lingered on his cheek, running his thumb along one of the many cuts on his face.

“What happened to your face?” Ardyn asked with no emotion.

No, Cor couldn’t afford for Ardyn to get overprotective now. Not when Forctis needed them. “That doesn’t matter right now. I need your help. Come with me.”

Cor grabbed Ardyn’s hand and quickly led him to where his uncle was.

When Cor laid eyes on his uncle, Forctis looked so much worse. He let go of Ardyn’s hand and ran to Forctis’s side placing his hand on his forehead. Forctis was freezing but there was clearly a layer of sweat coating his brow. Cor told Ardyn to hand him a potion and he forced the substance down Forctis throat to try and make him more comfortable. Not caring for his own health, Cor ripped off his coat and used it as a blanket and wrapped it around the ex-General. The kind and caring healer side of Ardyn kicked in and he too took off his coat to ensure that the man who saved his husbands life didn’t freeze to death. 

The potion kicked in and Forctis blinked when he saw Cor and Ardyn sitting over him. He cleared his throat, but his voice was strained and very weak. “So, this is the great Immortal Caelum brother. You don’t seem as scary as everyone believes you are.”

Ardyn gave him a soft smile at that remark. “I am not if you are in my good books, to which you have fallen into. I am forever in your debt for helping my husband. But it appears I am at a disadvantage. You know who I am, and I have no idea what your name is.”

“Forctis Leonis.”

Ardyn’s eyes went wide and he looked to Cor for confirmation of that statement.

“He’s my uncle. I know, but there is not a lot of time to explain. We need to help him.”

“I was told you were dead.” Ardyn said, feeling uneasy about this. His protectiveness over Cor skyrocketed and he suddenly did not want to trust this man any longer.

“That’s what I wanted people to believe.”

“You proved successful.”

“Never mind all that.” Cor gritted his teeth. He knew for a fact that, that potion wasn’t going to have that much effect on his uncle they needed something stronger and Forctis needed medical attention urgently. He told Ardyn to hand him an elixir. Cor than moved over to Forctis’s wounded shoulder and placed the bottle over it, and gave him warning before he poured it onto the exposed and rotting flesh. “This is going to hurt.”

“No Cor, stop.” Forctis pushed the bottle out of Cor’s hand and it fell onto the floor.

“Don’t be stupid I have to help you.” Cor said in frustration, before gesturing to Ardyn to give him another bottle.

Ardyn snapped his fingers to retrieve another elixir from his armiger and handed another bottle to Cor. He looked at the man who looked as though he was at death’s door and gave him a bit of friendly advice. “There is no point arguing with him.”

Cor poured the solution onto the wound and Forctis grunted in agony as he felt the effects of the healing method seep into his wound. It was definitely working. And once Cor was certain that Forctis was safe to move, he carefully moved his uncle’s arm around his shoulders and tried to pull him to his feet.

“We need to get you to Insomnia.”

“Are you nuts?” Forctis cried, fighting what Cor was doing.

“No. Ardyn we need to go, and he is coming with us.”

“You want me to willingly let a Niflheim General into the last line of defence Lucis has?” Ardyn questioned.

If anyone else dared to suggest that they let a traitor into their home, Ardyn would have laughed in their face. But this was Cor and he knew how serious he was being. Ardyn was not about to deny this man entry to Insomnia. Not after what he had done for Cor over the past few days and the fact that this man was his uncle by law. All the same… it was a very risky move and no one within the walls of Insomnia were going to like this.

Especially his little brother.

“Yes.” Cor nodded and tried to pull Forctis up again.

“Alright. Somnus is going to kill you.” Ardyn sighed, taking Forctis’s other arm and making the man stand on his feet. Ardyn also ensure to pick up both his and Cor’s coats that fell to the ground when the was forced up.

“Forctis, stop fighting us.” Cor demanded as he tried to make sure his uncle was steady on his feet.

“Cor… what you are doing is pointless.”

“No, it’s not. You saved my life and I am saving yours. Ardyn get us out of here.”

In a blink of an eye, Ardyn teleported them back to Insomnia and made sure that Forctis was seen by a doctor immediately. 

* * *

“Dad! I have missed you so much!” Prompto cried as he hugged Cor with all his might.

Once Somnus had made contact with Drautos, Somnus drove to Prom’s school and picked the little boy up so that when Cor got home, they could see each other. After Cor had briefly explained to Regis the situation so that Regis and Ardyn could be the ones to tell Somnus that they were housing a Niflheim General, Cor held Prompto close and he didn’t want to let him go. The entire time Cor was in that awful place he kept thanking himself that Prom was well away from there but all the Marshal wanted to do was hold his son. Now, finally, he was doing just that.

“I missed you too, Prom. Thanks for looking after dad for me.” Cor smiled kissing the top of Prompto’s head. 

After a few minutes of solid hugging, Prompto pulled away from his dad’s embrace and inspected his face, just like Ardyn had done. But instead of masking the worry in his voice, Prompto started to get teary-eyed as he spoke. “Did the bad man hurt you?”

“Why would you think that?” Cor responded carefully.

“Because you were in Niflheim. That’s where he lives. He didn’t hurt you, did he?”

“Look whatever happened, it’s over now. That’s the important thing.” Cor smiled not wanting to lie to Prom.

The boy was already terrified of that man so he didn’t want to ignite his fears with any details as to what happened. Maybe, when he was older and could process things easier Cor would tell him. But right now it was better if what happened in Niflheim stayed in Niflheim. Cor hugged Prom again, but all of a sudden they were forced apart as Cerberus had pushed all of his heads in between the pair to welcome Cor home.

Cor had never felt so happy to see that daemon dog in his life. He smiled at the dog and for the first time ever, he didn’t grumble when the dog licked his face. “Cerbie! Have you missed me, boy?”

“Yeah! He has been really worried. But that is only because we love you, dad.” Prompto said, petting Cerbie before wrapping one of his tiny arms around Cor. 

“I love you all too.” Cor smiled, for once admitting that he actually cared for the dog.

Ardyn came by not long afterwards and told Cor that Forctis was in surgery and that Somnus had not taken well to the news. Members of the Guard and Glaive were posted outside the room where he was being treated and that his uncle had also gone into surgery. Cor didn’t expect any different and stayed with Prom and Ardyn until they heard anything more on Forctis. As time ticked on, Prompto fell asleep, as he hadn’t had much since he started to get worried about Cor. Ardyn was more than happy that Prom was napping as it gave him and Cor a chance to talk about what had happened.

Ardyn got Cor a cup of coffee and sat beside him, with Cerbie laying on Cor’s feet in a protective manner. And little Prom was on the other sofa happily sleeping.

“Did that twat hurt you?” When Ardyn asked that question, it was as bland as when he had originally asked Cor how he got all those nasty cuts on his face.

Cor took Ardyn’s hand in his and started to beg him not to do anything. Cor knew how much Ardyn wanted to kill Verstael when he found out what he had done to Prom. And the knowledge that the scientist had now hurt him, would surely topple Ardyn’s sanity and he would just slaughter the man, with no thought for anyone else. Cor couldn’t let that happen.

“You can’t do anything. Promise me you won’t do anything.”

“So he did.”

“Ardyn. I mean it. Please, for me and Prom. Do not do anything. I am back now, please don’t ruin it by making things worse.”

Ardyn kissed Cor’s hand and nodded. “For you and Prom. I won’t.”

* * *

“GRANDFATHER SHUT UP! Cor is safe and back with us that is the important thing here.”

“And he brought a Niflheim General back with him!” Somnus screamed.

He would happily admit he was scared as to what would happen. There had been an attempt on Noct’s life only 2 years ago and Cor was happy to rehouse a traitor who had the potential to harm his grandchildren, his nephew and his city! He was not going to let it happen. He was putting his foot down at letting the man stay.

“Did you really expect me to leave him there to die. If you had a family member working for the other side, I guarantee you wouldn’t let them die!” Cor shouted back defending his actions.

“Actually, I have done before and I would do it again if it meant this city and everyone in it are safe!”

“Stop shouting. This is not going to help anything.” Clarus demanded, trying to defuse the situation.

Regis, Clarus and Ardyn were all very cautious of the man that Cor had brought back. And the fact that he was his uncle made things so much more complicated. Regis knew his duty as King was to protect Lucis and unfortunately, that may mean that Cor would have to suffer some heartache in order for that to happen. But right now, Ardyn was more concerned with Cor’s physical health.

“Somnus, I know this is serious, but Cor needs rest. And it’s not like Mr Leonis can get up and cause us any problems, he is currently in surgery. We can talk about this tomorrow.” Ardyn said pulling Cor away from Somnus, so he could take him to his private quarters for a lie-down.

Regis nodded and put a hand in front of Somnus so he would keep his mouth shut. “Grandfather, come with me, we will go and talk about this rationally.”

* * *

Cor had a rest but he wanted to be there when Forctis woke up. He left Prom in Ardyn’s care and sat on a chair next to his uncle’s bed until he woke up. And the first thing that came out of Forctis’s mouth infuriated the Marshal, but given the circumstances, he was willing to let it slide, just this once.

“Corey?”

“Hi, uncle Forctis.” Cor smiled before explaining to his uncle what had happened.

The doctors were at a loss of what to do to begin with because they didn’t know what weapon could have done that level of damage. Because of the broken bones and rotting flesh, they had no choice but to amputate his arm. Forctis just accepted it. There was no point getting upset over it. It was just an arm after all. Then Cor went on to explain that he had to tell Regis and Somnus who he was and what he had done and that Somnus was very against him being here. Regis wasn’t acting as concerned as Somnus was, but Cor knew his best friend felt as uneasy as the Founder King did. 

The pair talked for a while, and Cor said that he would do what he could to ensure that Forctis was well rested before anything was decided. But the Marshal had to leave not long after so the pair of them could get some well-needed rest before facing the Founder King’s wrath tomorrow. 

Forctis lay there awake for a while. Thinking about what he could and should have done differently. That he felt ashamed that he had missed so much with Cor. He missed his wedding, the adoption of his son, and he wasn’t there for him when he needed a guardian. That was something Forctis was going to have to thank Ardyn for. Being there for Cor when no one else was. A few hours after Cor left, Forctis heard the door to his room open and when he saw who it was, he carefully sat up and turned on the light, to greet Ardyn properly.

“Your Grace.”

“We’re family, so I think that gives you a right to call me Ardyn.” Ardyn gave him a warm smile as he sat in the chair that Cor had been sitting in a few hours ago.

The Ex-General nodded. “Is Cor alright?” 

“He’s tired and currently with our son. But according to him, he is well enough to go back to work tomorrow. And I hardly doubt that anyone can stop him from doing so.”

“He has always been like that.” Forctis sniggered, remembering what a trooper Cor used to be when he was younger. The Marshal fell out of a tree once, but it didn’t faze him. Cor got to his feet and tried to climb the bloody thing again. Just from seeing Cor’s strength and will to carry on… it made Forctis happy to know that Cor’s life wasn’t in shambles because of him and his brother.

“Nothing changes there then.” Ardyn laughed but he soon changed his tone. He spoke in a very grateful yet sympathetic voice. Forctis didn’t understand why he was using that tone until Ardyn got to the end of his sentence. “Forctis I am very grateful for what you have done. You saved my husband’s life and that is something I can never repay you for. However, we both know there is something you haven’t told Cor yet.”

Of course, Ardyn would have been able to figure it out. Forctis was surprised that Cor hadn’t noticed when he refused to let him directly touch his wound or blood.

“…Are you going to tell him?”

“No. I think you should. You do realise there is nothing that can be done.”

“I know. That’s why I told you not to take me back.”

This wasn’t fair. Ardyn felt so angry with himself. Years ago he would have been able to cure the man, and he more than deserved it for what he had done for Cor. For bringing Cor home and risking his life to do so. Ardyn hated the scourge so much and he could sense how far the infection had rooted in Forctis. It was only a matter of time before his health took a turn for the worst.

Ardyn placed a comforting hand on Forctis’s arm and gave him his sympathies. “I wish I could heal you. I really do. Because this is going to break Cor’s heart. I am very sorry.”

“It’s okay. I’ve known for a while. That’s why they chose me to watch over him. As it wouldn’t have mattered if he killed me.” Forctis said accepting what was to come. But he was so glad that he had seen Cor and been able to be his uncle one last time before he died. Forctis knew his death was certain. But how he died wasn’t. He looked Ardyn dead in the eye before talking again. “Ardyn would it be okay if I cash in your debt now?”

“Certainly, what do you need?”

“I want you to kill me.” 


	6. Never Enough

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has followed this fic. I actually made this chapter a litterl sadder than what I orginally intended to so sorry...
> 
> But please enjoy none the less

“… please, no offence to you but I do not want to become a daemon. I do not want to die like this.”

“I cannot do that.” Ardyn said softly shaking his head.

“You know how painful this is! You know how much strength it takes to get out of bed in the morning, knowing that is there no longer any point to life! I will not become a daemon! Please… I am begging you.”

Ardyn stood up from his chair and took a step away from Forctis. What this man was asking was what Ardyn was willing to give to anyone who asked to escape from a fate worse than death… but he couldn’t do this to Cor. Not right now anyway, especially if Cor was none the wiser to his uncle’s affliction. And because of that, it didn’t matter how much pain Forctis was in, it was a selfish request to make.

“And what about Cor? Is this fair on him, for you to die now, without him being allowed to say goodbye?”

“Is it fair on him, to watch his uncle die?” Forctis asked, still pleading to be put out of his misery.

But Ardyn was not budging. He was not doing this without Cor’s knowledge or time so that Cor could process what was going to happen. His husband was a strong person but even sometimes he could break. “You need to talk to Cor first. I am not doing anything without him knowing.”

“You love him. I get it. But you know what will happen if you don’t kill me and if I stay here as your nephew’s and brother’s prisoner of war. Do you want to risk the lives of the people of Insomnia? Keeping me alive will put their lives in jeopardy.”

Forctis thought that Ardyn would understand what he was going through better than anyone. What this pain felt like and the fear that came along with it. He had seen so many people turn into the ravenous and evil creatures that plagued the night. He had seen many of these people mindlessly murder their own family’s and watch so many grand names fall and turn into dust. He didn’t want that to happen to him. The only reason why he held on so long was because of his brother but he was gone. Long gone and Cor had Ardyn and Prompto. He didn’t need him. Why wouldn’t Ardyn just let him have peace? Peace was what the immortal daemon wanted himself, so why wouldn’t he give him his?

“I don’t mean to offend you, you're dying and you aren’t thinking straight. And once you do turn, I will have full power over you. I would never let you hurt anyone.”

“I don’t want that. That is something Cor won’t want either. I don’t want to be in any more pain Ardyn.” Forctis wept that time. He didn’t have dignity left. What did it matter if anyone saw him cry?

Ardyn had to turn away. Seeing people like this angered and upset him so much. He couldn’t heal him but he couldn’t bring himself to kill him either. Ardyn knew what the kindest thing to do was… but it wasn’t his place to make that decision. Nor was it anyone else’s but Forctis.

Forctis needed to speak to Cor.

“We will discuss this with Cor tomorrow. Until then get some rest.” Ardyn left, but before he went to see Cor and Prompto, he ordered a member of the glaive to stay with the General.

Cor had to say goodbye, Ardyn was not going to take that away from either uncle or nephew.

* * *

Ardyn didn’t tell Cor anything.

He kept silent when they went to bed, in the morning and all the way through breakfast. When they handed Prom over to a guard so he could be rushed to school, Ardyn put on a fake smile and tried to forget about what predicament his uncle by law had placed upon him. The hardest part in this was that Cor seemed bright today. The rest had done him good and he seemed very optimistic and ready to fight Regis’s and Somnus’s words about letting Forctis stay in Insomnia until he was well enough to leave. That was the thing… Ardyn didn’t know if he would ever be well enough to leave and fend for himself again. They could lessen the pain but that was about it by this point. It was only a matter of time before he started vomiting up clumps of the black substance. This was going to hit Cor hard.

But he needed to know. Ardyn told Cor to see his uncle immediately, and that he would deal with Regis and Somnus. When he went to look for them, he was told that the two Kings were on their way down to speak to Forctis.

Ardyn couldn’t let them disturb Cor’s and Forctis’s conversation. Not when he knew Cor was probably going to cry. Somnus would more than likely end up dead if he tried to interrogate Forctis after Cor learnt that his uncle was infected. Thankfully he could teleport and beat them down there. Ardyn got there just in time to stop Regis and Somnus from going into the room.

Which Somnus didn’t like, but Ardyn managed to convince them to step into another room, before briefing them on the situation. 

“Will you two listen to me. We can no longer discuss what happens to Forctis.”

“Excuse me? Don’t you dare tell me what to do.” Somnus growled. He was so pissed off at Ardyn for letting Forctis in Insomnia. It didn’t matter to him who he was. Forctis was a risk to the safety of his family and this city. Unlike them, as they didn’t want to start a fight they couldn’t win, the Niffs would stop at nothing and destroy Lucis if they discovered they were housing him.

Regis was on the same page as Somnus. “Ardyn, I am afraid I have to agree with Grandfather on this one. He may be Cor’s uncle, but he has been working with Niflheim and we have no idea what his true intentio-”

“If you let me explain I can tell you the reason why. He’s not going to be a problem for much longer, because he is infected with the scourge.”

That shut the pair up.

Now they had an even bigger problem on their hands. The wall kept out the daemons, meaning that the risk of anyone getting infected was at an all-time low. But Insomnia was a cramped confined city. Yes, it was clean and hardly anyone left for it was the safest place in Eos. But if there was an outbreak of the scourge, the city would fall without the help of the Niffs. Now keeping that man here was not something Somnus was willing to let happen.

Regis was worried, but he was more concerned about Cor. “Does Cor know this?”

“He’s in with him now.” Ardyn confirmed.

Somnus grumbled, wanting to deal with this as quietly and effectively as he could. If they got rid of him now, there was no cause for concern. “What do you suggest, we let him turn here?”

“Somnus!” Regis shouted at his grandfather for how disrespectful he was being.

“I am just saying, it is a stupid idea to let that happen.”

Ardyn swallowed down a growl as he stared at his brother. He really shouldn’t have expected any different from him. Especially with his preferred method of dealing with the disease and those infected. And if Cor heard him say that… his husband would be asked to step down as the Marshal for treason.

“Sometimes, I don’t understand how we were birthed from the same mother.” Ardyn said in a cold low voice, before changing his tactic to a more aggressive one, as Somnus did not seem fazed by his statement. “For once in your life stop being a cold heartless bastard! And think about Cor because he is the one who is going to be upset over this! And if you can’t do that Somnus, I don’t want to you anywhere near Cor or Prompto for the rest of the month!”

Neither did Regis. Regis told Somnus that him and Ardyn were now going to deal with this and that he was to keep out of the way until things were sorted. Which included going upstairs and helping Clarus out for a few hours.

* * *

“Are you okay?” Forctis asked as he looked at Cor.

The Marshal looked confused more than anything else. Forctis only assumed it was because he was trying to process what he had just told him. It was not something anyone wanted to hear.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Cor asked, not looking up from the floor.

“Because we were going our separate ways.”

Cor snapped his head up and started to shout at his uncle with hurt littering his voice. “You think I didn’t have a right to know! You are the only blood relative I have left!”

Cor didn’t want to admit it until now… but he had gotten used to the idea of having Forctis around. He knew that once his uncle was able to stand again that Somnus was going to have him thrown out of Insomnia, but Cor wanted to help his uncle get back on his feet. Cor would have gladly brought him a flat somewhere in Accordo or on the outskirts of Lucis and do what he could to rehabilitate him. He wanted to get to know him again. He wanted Prom to know him. Above all else Cor wanted Forctis to be his uncle again. Which would have taken time as Cor still didn’t 100% trust him, but now they didn’t have time. They no longer could be a family again… that was what was so very hard to stomach. There was nothing Cor could do to change his fate, even after he risked his life to save his.

Forctis gave him a weak smile and spoke calmly at him. “Corey, listen to me. You have managed without me for over 25 years. It’s okay. I have accepted what is going to happen. I know what needs to be done so I don’t turn into one of those monsters.”

Cor jolted upon hearing that… _No, he didn’t mean that_… “You want to…”

“I have asked Ardyn. And he said he wouldn’t do a thing without you knowing.”

The Marshal rubbed his temple, this was too much to take in. A few days ago, he just met the man who he thought he had lost 25 years ago, and in the short amount of time they had spent together Cor had grown attached and now he was going to lose him, and his uncle had asked his husband to kill him!!! Cor’s upset turned into frustration and he kicked at the bed his uncle was laying on.

“This isn’t fair! All the things I said to you, I didn’t mean a word of it.”

“That doesn’t matter. I know you only said those things because you were hurting. It is okay to admit when you get like that.” Forctis reassured him, knowing for a fact that Cor was not one to show any form of emotion similar to that. The Ex-General sat up and wrapped his arm around his nephew to give him a hug. He felt Cor stiffen up and he thought Cor was going to push him off. But he didn’t. Instead, Cor accepted the hug and hugged him back. Forctis smiled with joy, he hadn’t been able to do that in such a long time, he was glad even if it was at the end he had his nephew back. “You know what. Out of myself, you and your dad, you are the only one that has lived up to the family name, you have more courage than either of us put together. I am proud to be your uncle, Cor. I am just glad we ran into each other before I go.”

Cor nodded in his uncle’s shoulder and whispered in a weaker tone. He wasn’t crying. That wasn’t going to happen. “I just wish there was something I could do. After what you did for me… and for my family.”

“Corey, you did. You got me away from Niflheim. You understand why I want to die. You understand that in doing this, I am protecting you and your son. This is for the best.”

“You’re wrong…” Cor breathed out pulling away from Forctis. Forctis was going to fight him on that because his death was going to be best for everyone, but that wasn’t what Cor meant. “You have lived up to the family name too.” 

* * *

“Why didn’t you tell me last night?!” Cor shouted, finally finding what room Ardyn and Regis were in.

“Cor, he had to be the one to tell you.” Ardyn explained.

Both Ardyn and Regis knew how upset Cor was. This act of frustration and rage was a way to hide the hurt he was feeling. In a few minutes, Cor would start kicking things and saying stuff to the pair of them that he really didn’t mean. And once Forctis had passed, the Marshal was not going to leave the Guard training barracks for a while and the guard were going to get the brunt of his grief.

Regis didn’t want to see Cor like this, and he knew that it would be better for his brother to cry now when it was still fresh than let it be bottled up. So, he gave him an opportunity to express his emotions. “My dear, I know this is hard, but it is okay to cry.”

“I DON’T WANT TO CRY!” Cor roared. He grieved for him 25 years ago and he did not want to do it again. But it didn’t change the fact that… “My uncle is at death’s door and there is nothing I can do to help him!”

Ardyn stood beside his distressed husband and gently rubbed his back. “Darling… you know what the kindest thing to do is.”

“I know.” Cor hit Ardyn’s hand away before rubbing his eyes. He was still determined to not let a single tear fall. He didn’t even know this man, why was this so hard for him to comprehend? “It’s not fair. No matter how he dies, there will be no dignity behind it! He dies of the scourge or he is executed for having it.”

“If it helps Cor, I will give him a full pardon for everything he has done.” Regis offered.

“He won’t care about that! He’ll be dead!”

Ardyn grabbed on to Cor’s shoulder’s and forced him to look at him. Cor felt so tense and Ardyn could see the tears that were building up in Cor’s eyes. To relax him, Ardyn massages his shoulder’s. “You’re getting worked up now. You need to calm down.” 

“I don’t want to watch him die!” Cor said, feeling his throat get tighter.

Ardyn pulled him closer towards him and started to sway Cor from side to side, silently giving him permission to cry. “I know my darling. But after what he did for you, this is the kindest most thoughtful thing you can do for him. Saying goodbye will be hard, but if this is what he truly wants you must let him have it.” 

Regis couldn’t hear Cor’s whimper’s but he knew for a fact he was crying. He had his face buried in Ardyn’s chest and his body was trembling as Ardyn rubbed his back and whispered words of comfort into his ear. The King felt guilty for siding with Somnus now. Seeing his little brother break, made him realise that there was no point to this war any longer. That the innocent of both Niflheim and Lucis were the ones who were truly affected in this endless bitter war. There was no honour in the fighting, for heaven's sake, Regis couldn’t even reward Forctis for saving one of his best friends.

Honour…

A thought came to the King than. But he didn’t voice what it was for a few moments. Cor needs to cry. He needed to grieve and Regis knew if he tried to speak to him, Ardyn would bite his head off. He remained silent until Cor pulled himself away from Ardyn and sat down in a heap on a chair.

Regis sat down next to Cor, he would have knelt in front of him but his knee was causing him more problems than he cared to share, and spoke carefully to the man he considered to be his brother, “There is another solution. A way he can die with honour Cor.”

“What is that Regis? You and Somnus didn’t want him here in the first place.” Cor wiped his face, trying to get rid of the tear marks that still lingered on his face.

“No, we didn’t. I am sorry for that. I really am, but… if he doesn’t want the scourge to take him and I know for certain Ardyn doesn’t want to claim his life. Wouldn’t it be fitting for a man who showed nothing but courage and loyalty to you, if he undertook the trial of Gilgamesh?”

“No.” Cor said bluntly. Regis swore he saw fear race across Cor’s eyes, but he chose not to say anything.

“That’s not a bad idea.” Ardyn said, supporting Regis.

“What?!”

Ardyn knelt down in front of Cor and took his hands in his before explaining. “Think about it? People do that trial for pride or they want to prove something.”

“Or they are stupid enough to think they can beat him.”

Ardyn laughed, he knew Cor was referring to himself there. Ardyn placed a hand on Cor’s face and gave him a faint smile before going back to explaining. Because Regis was right. He didn’t want to be the one to claim Forctis’s life. In a sense, he was already doing that… Ardyn didn’t want any more blood on his hands.

“Darling, people go down there for honour. No one comes back up and yet the families always have a sense of pride and seek comfort in the knowledge that their loved ones tried. It may be a suicide mission, but the value people have on that fight cannot ever be questioned. You want him to have a worthy death, well that is the best way to die for a man like him.” 

* * *

Forctis agreed when Ardyn told him Regis’s idea. However, he was not going yet, not until he was strong enough to at least hold a weapon. Thankfully, it wasn’t his right arm that got amputated. But Cor didn’t want Forctis to remain at the Citadel as they waited for the inevitable. Instead, he took him home so they could spend more time together and so that Forctis and Prom could meet properly. It was a little harsh to introduce Prom to him now, but Cor wanted Forctis to have a little taste of what it meant to be a part of family before he died. Forctis was so grateful to both Cor and Ardyn for allowing him to have just that.

After two weeks, it was time. Ardyn did offer to be the one to explain to Forctis what would take place, but Cor said he wanted to do it. He wanted to say a private goodbye to his uncle, without being disturbed.

“…Ardyn is going to take you to the entrance. You will skip passed all the meaningless daemons and trials and go straight to his chamber instead.”

“Isn’t that cheating?” Forctis laughed, feeling nervous.

“With your arm, you will be lucky if he even wants to fight you.” Cor teased. All the pair could do was joke about it now. It was a way to cope. A thought suddenly dawned on him, and the Marshal couldn’t help but smirk. “Actually, he might do considering he has only got one arm himself now.”

“Thank you, Corey.” Forctis said, smiling with pride at his nephew.

Cor removed his hands from behind his back and offered Forctis one of his old katana’s. “Take this. I have already lost one to that giant, but I think it is worth losing another.”

Tears formed in Forctis’s eyes as he hesitantly took the gift from Cor. His brother would have been so proud of his son. Even if Cor hated hearing it, his nephew reminded him of Durum in so many ways.

“Come here.” Forctis sniffed as he hugged his nephew one last time. “Look after yourself okay.”

Cor hugged him back, finally accepting that he was going to lose his uncle again. “I will. I promise. Give that immortal prick a fight worth dying for.” 

* * *

Ardyn ran his hand through Cor’s hair as they laid down on their bed together. Ardyn had his free arm wrapped tightly around his husband’s body to give him comfort and hold him close every time he thought Cor was close to tears. Cor had been silent for a good hour and a half now and he thought Cor had fallen asleep. Ardyn looked at the time and saw it was 2:30 in the morning. Ardyn stopped stroking Cor’s hair and tried to carefully move off of him, but Cor’s grip around his stomach got tighter, forcing Ardyn to remain where he was. 

Ardyn let out a soft sigh and went back to running his fingers through Cor’s hair. “Are you feeling any different?”

Cor sniffed and buried his face into Ardyn’s chest. “I don’t know why I am upset. I grieved for him 25 years ago, I shouldn’t be doing it again.”

“You’re upset because you’re a good person and you care for him.”

“He was a good person too.”

“I can see that.” Ardyn turned his head slightly and kissed Cor’s forehead. He noticed that Cor’s eyes were red from holding back tears, Ardyn knew Cor wasn’t going to sleep. “Darling, you really must get some rest. Prom and I are going to be here in the morning to comfort you.”

“I love you both so much.” Cor breathed through his unwanted tears. He may have lost his uncle, but he was not losing them. He was never going to let anyone take his husband and son away from him. 

“We love you too. Now… would you like a sleeping potion? It will do you good.”

“Yeah.” Cor nodded, sitting up as Ardyn retrieved one from his armiger.

“There we go. Goodnight, my darling.” Ardyn smiled, kissing Cor softly and waited until Cor fell into a deep slumber. Ardyn moved so he was now laying on his front as he continued to stroke Cor’s hair. He kissed him on the head one last time, before whispering to his husband his apology’s.

“I am sorry, My Marshal. But I can’t keep my promise to you about Verstael. I’ll be back soon.”

* * *

That was how Ardyn found the scumbag who had tortured both his son and husband. Muttering mindless words to himself, as he walked through the Godforsaken lab with reports in his hand. Ardyn kept to the shadows as he followed him, and waited until it was only him and the scientist alone in the room together. Ardyn hadn’t hunted anything in so long, as it drove the daemons to insanity, but he would happily wait for the right moment to pounce at this disgrace of a human being. People like him only reminded Ardyn how fucked up the Astrals were. If everything was ordained than why would they create a monster like this?

Ardyn followed him to a room that had nothing in it. No one but himself and the Niff. Before Ardyn could make himself known to ‘it’, as he was now going to refer to Verstael, stopped in the centre of the room and laughed as it spoke. “Hello, your Highness. What am I owed this pleasure?”

“I wouldn’t call it a pleasure me being here.” Ardyn gritted his teeth finally stepping out of the shadows and glared daggers at the man. Every ounce of his being wanted to gut it where it stood.

“Really? It’s not every day that you come face to face with the Adagium himself.” Ardyn could hear and clearly see the smirk on the twisted scientist’s face. To only make matters worse, the Niff gave him an insulting bow of mockery.

That was a mistake as it only fuelled Ardyn’s internal rage.

“Not many people live when they do.” Ardyn growled darkly.

“Pity. I thought we could have a discussion.”

“I agree. We are going to talk about why you thought it was a good idea to capture and torture my husband. And what you exactly did, in detail, to my son?”

Verstael cackled in joy. “There we have it! You willingly give up information like that and your husband never said a word. Since you admitted to the theft, I think it is time that you return ‘it’ to me.”

_Breathe…_ Ardyn told himself. Prom was at home and Cerbie was curled up on his bed. Verstael was not getting anywhere near him. No matter how much Ardyn told himself that though it didn’t stop the scourge from leaking out of his eyes as he let it consume him, and he continued to threaten the rat.

“You are in no place to tell me what to do!”

“Really?” Verstael’s laughs only got louder as he clicked something that was hidden inside his pocket.

Suddenly something fell from the ceiling, caging Ardyn in a glass and steel container. Ardyn raised an eyebrow at the invention and placed his hands on one of the walls. It burnt his hands to touch and it forced more of the scourge to escape from his eyes. Soon Verstael’s annoying voice made its way into Ardyn’s ears.

“You shouldn’t have come here Daemon. Let’s see if I got my calculations right.” Verstael got the device he had used to contain Ardyn out of his pocket and turned the red dial up.

A purple light filled the container and Ardyn felt his skin burn and he couldn’t help but whine in pain and shake his head, as the daemons screamed at him to get out of there.

“Is it burning? Good. Let’s crank the UV radiation to the max.” The scientist did as he promised and the pain became unbearable for Ardyn to take. He let out a mighty roar as he glared at Verstael, who had to cover his eyes due to the amount of light coming from the container.

Once Ardyn had stopped screaming, Verstael turned the device off. He had waited for Ardyn to come for a long time and he had built this device that had killed even the strongest daemons. He hoped that it would be enough to contain the Adagium but when the light faded, Ardyn was nowhere to be seen. Verstael started to panic and he ran up to his invention. There was nothing in there. When he felt a light tap on his shoulder, Verstael span around and saw Ardyn standing in front of him with the look of death on his face. 

“What the Devil!”

“You seem to forget that I am not just a daemon. I am the starscourge and your little inventions will never work on me.” Ardyn bore his teeth, wrapping his hand around Verstael’s neck and lifted him up with ease in the air. He pushed the man so that his back was on the container and stared into his eyes with glee as the Niff struggled to breathe and crawl at his hand, in an attempt to set himself free. Forcing Ardyn to let out a cruel laugh. “Can’t you breathe? What a pity. I want to torture you so badly. I want to rip every single one of your organs out one by one and watch you scream in pain for what you have done to my family. But… I am not going to do that.”

Ardyn dropped the man and scratch his own skin open before forcing Verstael to taste the scourge that had now replaced his blood. Ardyn winked at him before moving away, leaving the man to spit out the vile black substance.

“What… what have you done?” Verstael asked, unable to get rid of that foul taste.

“My baby brother told me not to kill you. And for once I am going to listen to him. You are going to die and it will be the scourge that claims your life. I have a feeling the Emperor won’t let you anywhere near the Princess. To put it bluntly… you’re screwed.”

Ardyn laughed as he watched fear creep its way on to Verstael’s face. To make this experience even more terrifying for the man, Ardyn knelt down and calmly explained what was going to happen to him.

“Don’t worry, you won’t die straight away. I will make sure of that. I gave you the tiniest amount of the blight, so in 10. maybe 12 years, it will finally catch up to you. The pain is going to be excruciating. You can spend the rest of your miserable life trying to find a cure. Have fun. If I die before you do… then this is goodbye. But if not, I am coming back.. and I will watch you turn and suffer. Thank you for the chat it has been lovely.”

Ardyn chuckled as he rose to his feet and started to walk away from the man that hurt his family. The urge to kill was still there, but he had promised Cor that he wouldn’t butcher him. No, the Astrals could now decide what way this man died…

Astrals… speaking of which.

Ardyn spun on his heels and looked at the man who was still trying to catch his breath, sitting in shock on the floor. 

“Oh, before I go, please point me in the direction of the Infernian.”

“Why?”

“You subdued a God. Well… I would like to make a covenant with him. And if you want to keep your legs, or any of your vital organs, you will tell me which way to go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh oh....


End file.
